The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data shows 24.3% of adults in 2023 were dealing with chronic pain. There were 8.5% of adults experiencing chronic pain severe enough that it interfered with work and life activities. As people age, the chances of experiencing chronic pain increase due to conditions like arthritis. There are also approximately 80 million U.S. adults who are taking medicine for acute pain each year. Knowing when to see a pain specialist is important to finding persistent pain relief and an improved quality of life as early as possible. Your pain doctor in Maryland is a medical specialist with specialized training in diagnosing and treating acute and chronic pain through a multi-modality approach.
What is a Pain Specialist?
Creating a chronic pain treatment is often a complex process that includes an evaluation, diagnosis and determination of treatment options most likely to help the patient manage the pain. Today, a chronic pain treatment plan is usually a mix of conventional and complementary treatments that include medications, interventional procedures like facet joint injections, nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, and surgery, physical therapy, and massage, to name a few. A pain specialist will also incorporate a plan for lifestyle changes that are likely to reduce pain over the long term, like weight management and exercise.
When patients decide to see a pain doctor in Maryland, it is either because another doctor referred them or because they need advanced therapies. Most pain specialist patients have debilitating pain that persists despite treatments by a general practitioner. However, people with debilitating acute pain that does not respond to treatment or people with acute pain likely to become chronic pain also consult a pain specialist.
A pain specialist addresses physical and psychological pain in developing a treatment plan. One reason it is so vital to work with a pain specialist to treat chronic pain is that long-term pain left untreated can lead to issues like depression or drug addiction.
Sometimes, people suffer with pain until it becomes unbearable because they are unfamiliar with the options available today to treat a wide range of conditions that include pain due to an injury, fibromyalgia, sciatica, migraine headache, herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, low back pain, arthritis, neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy or nerve entrapment syndrome, to name the common causes of pain.
When to Seek Pain Management
Acute pain lasts less than three months and is usually more easily treatable than chronic pain. Chronic pain is persistent pain that endures over three months, indicating a complex medical issue requiring a specialist's attention. A pain specialist can develop an individualized treatment plan.
There are signs you need a pain specialist, which should not be ignored, to get the best results.
- Pain becomes chronic, which can be due to pain persisting beyond a standard healing time for an identified cause of pain or an unidentified source of pain.
- Pain affects the quality of life in one or more ways, including the ability to sleep, work, manage daily activities or participate in recreational activities.
- Standard pain treatments, like medications and physical therapy, are not working.
- Numbness, burning or shooting pain in the shoulders, arms or legs, usually due to nerve damage or neuropathy, and making it difficult to pinpoint the source of the pain.
- Over-the-counter medications no longer help, or they need higher doses or more potent prescription medications to control the pain.
- Pain with an unidentified source (idiopathic pain).
- Pain from a chronic condition like fibromyalgia, arthritis, back pain, migraines, etc.
- Pain with other symptoms like a fever or swelling.
- Chronic pain causes anxiety, depression or any emotional distress due to its persistence and severity.
- Long-term treatments lead to even more intense pain needing management.
Never Ignore Pain
Your pain doctor in Maryland works with a network of specialists to ensure you get the best care possible. Anyone experiencing pain should never ignore it because pain is a messaging system letting someone know there is a problem. Pain is a personal experience, and no two people experience it the same way. A pain specialist develops an individualized treatment plan for each patient to reduce or eliminate pain and improve the quality of life. No one should believe they have to endure pain alone. Take charge of your pain and see a pain specialist.