Find A Pain Center That Will Help You Cope With Your Chronic Pain

If your doctor has recommended that you visit a pain center, the first thing you need to understand is that not all of them are alike. They will all offer a variety of therapies with the goal of reducing your pain. But they all have a different approach to the types of therapies they offer. 

The Different Types of Pain Center

Even though each facility of this nature will function as a ‘pain center’, there are 4 primary different types of centers. Let’s take a look at them and what they offer a person with chronic pain:

Interventional Pain Center

An interventional pain center will focus on procedures that are minimally invasive to reduce pain. They work to improve a patient’s ability to function and engage in their normal activities. By minimally invasive procedures, this includes epidural steroid injections, intrathecal drug delivery devices, nerve blocks, radiofrequency neuro ablations, and spinal cord stimulator implants. This type of facility does not have the resources and time to teach patients coping skills for their pain.

Long-term Opioid Management Pain Center

The long-term opioid management center will typically provide a patient access to narcotic pain medications for long-term use. The goal of this clinic type is to reduce a patient’s pain and increase their function is secondary. Just as with the interventional pain center, it is assumed that after a patient’s pain has been reduced, the patient is able to return to normal daily activities.

This type of pain center will offer a patient an indefinite supply of medications, narcotics, and opioid. The patient will usually see the staff healthcare provider on a regular basis so that they are given their prescription.

When it is suspected by the pain center staff that a patient is abusing their medications, they will refer the patient to a substance dependence program. Also, if a patient’s body and pain have become tolerant of the prescribed medications, the staff may recommend the patient to a different pain center.

This type of long-term pain center will have a stronger emphasis on teaching the patient coping skills of their pain.  The staff providers will encourage the patient to exercise regularly and stay active as well as how perform diaphragmatic breathing. They will also teach the patient how to use other coping strategies that are as passive such as applying cold, heat, TENS units and provide them home traction units.

Orthopedic or Spinal Surgery Pain Center

And orthopedic and surgery center will provide patient’s invasive procedures in order to reduce pain. Just as the other two centers we’ve just discussed, this type of pain center will also focus on getting the pain reduced with the assumption that the patient will be able to return to their normal level of functioning. There is no focus increasing the patient’s function.

The types of procedures that a surgery pain center will perform are arthroscopic surgeries, joint replacement surgeries, and spine surgeries.

Chronic pain Rehabilitation Pain Center

A chronic pain rehabilitation center is different from the three centers we’ve covered here. This type of center will provide a patient interdisciplinary rehabilitation care with the goal of reducing the pain and increasing their function. A chronic pain rehabilitation center points to evidence both clinical and scientific in which pain is only one of several factors that can determine the functioning ability of a patient.

A chronic pain center that operates as a rehabilitation clinic will provide a patient with interdisciplinary rehabilitation care, and help a patient learn how to engage in the various lifestyle changes as the pain is reduced over time. In other words, they teach patient coping skills for their pain.