24 Jan 5 Key Ways Pain Medicine Differs from Primary Care
Pain medicine is a recognized specialty practiced by doctors who’re fully trained and licensed physicians, identical to your GP or family doctor. Nonetheless, what we do on a day-to-day basis differs somewhat. GPs and family doctors often refer chronic pain patients to us for that very reason.
It’d show you how to to know the differences between pain medicine and first care. Understanding pain medicine stands out as the motivation it’s worthwhile to ask for a referral. In any case, at all times keep in mind that you’re the most effective advocate to your health.
- Pain Medicine Is Very Specific
The primary significant difference between pain medicine and first care is specificity. Here at Lone Star, we don’t see patients affected by the common cold, allergies, warts, bunions, etc. We specialise in chronic and acute pain. We specialise in attending to the foundation causes of pain and treating them.
Then again, pain is just considered one of the various complaints a GP or family doctor deals with. In a primary care setting, a physician can treat every thing from skin rashes to muscle sprains. Primary care physicians are the primary line of defense, so to talk.
- Pain Medicine Digs Deeper
Treating pain in a primary care setting is often left to either over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications. Primary care doctors don’t have the time or resources to dig deeply in quest of a cause. That’s comprehensible; they’ve so much on their plates.
In pain medicine, it’s our job to dig deeply. It’s our responsibility to run a full range of diagnostic tests to work out exactly what is occurring. We keep digging until we discover a root cause. Once that cause is identified, we will start working with patients on the most effective course of treatment.
- The Tendency Toward Multiple Treatments
If you may have experience with pain medicine, you’re likely aware of the thought of implementing multiple treatments concurrently. For instance, an arthritis patient is likely to be encouraged to undergo PRP injections combined with physical therapy and OTC medications, when essential. Combining all three treatments gives the patient a greater probability of experiencing maximum pain relief.
Combining multiple treatments requires pain doctors to work with other members of a patient’s healthcare team. That will mean collaborating with the first care physician. It could mean working with a physical therapist, a rehab specialist, or perhaps a sports medicine specialist.
- A Larger Collection of Treatments
Perhaps essentially the most notable difference between pain medicine and first care is the sheer variety of treatment options available to pain medicine doctors. Using our clinic for instance, we provide every thing from sympathetic nerve blocks to spinal cord stimulation. Our options extend far beyond medications and surgeries.
This is just not to say that prescribing drugs and recommending surgical procedures is bad. Nothing may very well be farther from the reality. It is just to say that there are plenty of other treatments that should not often beneficial by primary care physicians.
- The Management Philosophy
Finally, most cases of chronic pain are lifelong. Helping patients live full and productive lives is more about pain management than finding a cure. Pain medicine doctors can do a greater job here since it is our specialty. Primary care physicians may give their best effort, but pain management is just not something they have an inclination to give attention to.
You might be a superb candidate for pain medicine in case your primary care physician or family doctor has been unsuccessful in treating you. Should you would really like to know more and also you live within the Weatherford, TX area, we hope you’ll consider visiting Lone Star Pain Medicine.
