What to expect from your pain management specialist

A pain management specialist is a doctor who evaluates your pain and treats a wide range of pain problems. A pain management doctor treats sudden pain problems such as headaches and many types of long-lasting, chronic, pain such as low back pain. Patients are seen in a pain clinic and can go home the same day. Pain management doctors offer a mix of medication-based treatments and procedures, that can stop the pain at its source.

Types of pain treated by a Pain Clinic Doctor

The types of pain treated by a pain management doctor fall into three main groups. The first is pain due to direct tissue injury, such as arthritis. The second type of pain is due to nerve injury or a nervous system disease, such as a stroke. The third type of pain is a mix of tissue and nerve injury, such as back pain.

Disorders that cause pain due to tissue injury

• Osteoarthritis (wear and tear arthritis in the large joints: knees, hips)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (arthritis due to an autoimmune reaction – felt in small joints like fingers, wrists)

Nerve or nervous system disorders that cause pain

• Stroke (post-stroke pain)
• Multiple sclerosis
• Spinal cord injury
• Neuropathy (nerve pain due to shingles, HIV, diabetes)

Mixed pain disorders

• Neck pain
• Back pain
• Cancer