The Pros and Cons of Pain Clinics for Treating Chronic Pain Sufferers

Is attending a pain clinic a viable option for you?

Millions of people suffer chronic pain, every day. Being able to attend a pain clinic offers a suffering patient the opportunity to have an ongoing, medical assessment to determine the cause, obtain personal support for pain management and possibly find temporary or permanent relief from chronic pain. At the same time, there are people who are skeptical about pain clinics. Some question the integrity of physicians and health care providers, who manage pain clinics.

There may be justifiable, legitimate concerns voiced with respect to pain clinics and how they are managed, as well as with the different kinds of treatments they offer. Anyone suffering chronic pain should be aware that there are pros and cons, if they are thinking about attending pain clinics.

The nature of chronic pain is such that it affects a person as a whole, including the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual realms of his or her person-hood. It is not just the body that is adversely affected. Pain that persists beyond than a year, is chronic. Treatment for chronic pain depends upon a number of factors, including the length of time the pain has persisted, its cause, location and degree of severity.

Chronic pain takes on different faces and phases and for effective resolution, it is important that the chronic pain is accurately diagnosed. A patient experiencing chronic pain should be assessed by a physician, who may consult with specialists or other health care professionals regarding a diagnosis, appropriate treatment and pain management.

What causes chronic pain in one individual, is not necessarily the cause of the chronic pain another person experiences. There is the issue of real pain versus phantom pain (pain experienced as real). There are those who question whether a patient actually has chronic pain. This contributes to the skepticism, controversy and conflict with respect to the merit of pain clinics. Some query whether a patient treated for phantom pain, actually pays for non-essential health care.

Pain on any level is pain. Chronic pain involves the joints, muscles and nerves. Short term pain is easier to live with, diagnose and treat than long term or chronic pain.

No one can feel the full extent of someone else's pain. There are instances when a child is about to be born and a spouse claims to feel his wife's labor pains, but this is not chronic pain. This is sympathy pain. Chronic pain extends over a long period and may persist throughout one's lifetime.

Pain management clinics use a wide variety of treatment options for chronic pain. For example, nerve blocks may be used to reduce pain signals sent to the body. Botox injections may be administered to relax muscles. Prolotherapy induces intentional inflammation and scarring, to decrease mobility and pain from movement.

Cortisone may be administered orally for chronic pain or in the form of epidural injections (including those guided by x-rays). A patient may undergo surgery to cut nerves to relieve pain. Numerous other kinds of pain medications are given by injection, orally, intravenously or rectally.

Physiotherapy, exercise and hydrotherapy are recommended for chronic pain sufferers. Meditation may be combined with different kinds of relaxation techniques. Chiropractic treatment, acupuncture or massage therapy may be used, as well as laser treatments or low amplitude stimulation. (1)

Different kinds of counseling are beneficial in chronic pain management.

Other possible treatments for chronic pain may include the use of heat or infrared light therapy. An orthopedic mattress or ergonomic furniture might be recommended, for a patient suffering chronic back pain. Dietary changes may include vitamin and mineral supplementation. Braces or support for backs, knees and elbows could be implemented and different kinds of footwear suggested.

Because there is such a broad range of treatment options, chronic pain management clinics are subjected to controversy. What one pain clinic recommends or practices may not be the preferred treatment, recommended or practiced by another pain management clinic.

There are two important factors that must be considered, when one plans to attend a pain clinic, namely the cost and time involved. Both will be determined, at least to some extent, by the seriousness of the pain one experiences and a patient's degree of commitment to finding chronic pain resolution.

When considering chronic pain management at a pain clinic, one must ask whether the assessment, diagnosis and treatment are cost effective, with regard to the amount of time required for assessment and treatment. One must consider the anticipated outcome of treatment. If this is not cost effective, what other options are available?

There may be health coverage for the cost of visits to certain kinds of pain management clinics, but not for others. For instance, western-oriented pain clinics may be covered while eastern-oriented pain clinics may not be covered.

Depending upon where one lives, there may be extensive travel involved. The cost of travel, hotel and motel or hospitalization for surgery, may not be covered. There is time lost from work and time required for treatments or therapy.

A lot of controversy about pain clinics arises, when a patient has to pay for everything, as most people do not have incomes that support repeated visits to chronic pain clinics or lengthy treatments. At times, the cost may be absorbed by worker's compensation. Lawsuits may result, particularly if there is lengthy treatment necessary for chronic pain.

Some patients have appropriate health care provisions or insurance policies that cover pain management and the cost of pain clinics, but not every health insurance policy covers everything, though some of a patient's medications may be covered. There may be times when various kinds of medical treatments, surgical procedures or long term rehabilitation are not covered. Experimental treatments may not be covered.

Another factor is whether the proposed medications or treatments are effective and if so, for how long? Not every treatment for chronic pain is effective for everyone, even though at times, it provides temporary relief. When pain recurs after treatment, pain clinics can be subjected to scrutiny and criticism.

Taking pain medication can result in a patient experiencing adverse or severe side effects. Addiction to medication is another factor that must be considered.

There are those who are aware that the human body has its own mechanisms to control pain and at times, no medication or treatment is necessary, but patients are reluctant to go this route. The thought of chronic pain frightens people and the release of adrenalin into the human body, can make chronic pain worse. 

Appropriate counseling can help to resolve fears and plays a major role in pain management. Meditation or yoga may be recommended because they induce relaxation.

Should one attend a pain management clinic?

Are pain management clinics ethical?

These are the kinds of questions that patients need to find answers for, before becoming involved with pain clinics. It is highly recommended that a patient who is in chronic pain be properly assessed by his or her own physician first, in order to discover the origin of his or her pain. If the medications or treatments suggested by the physician are not effective, other physicians may be consulted. If they are still not able to resolve the chronic pain situation, it may be time to consider other options. A patient and his or her family, in conjunction with his or her family physician and other health care professionals, can research possible alternatives available in the vicinity or in other regions.

At times, the patient can be his or her best physician, but not always. There are times when pain management clinics can get to the root of the problem of chronic pain, immediately and be effective in its resolution. There are other times when pain management clinics are relatively unsuccessful in controlling the chronic pain a patient suffers.

With regard to unscrupulous pain clinics that may not deal rightly with patients, it is unlikely that they will remain in business for any length of time. But, at the same time, any consumer should always be careful, when shopping for a pain clinic.

It is always advisable to investigate any pain clinic before consenting to treatments or signing any kinds of agreements. Find out what methods of treatment are practiced. The first road of inquiry should be your own physician. Do online research and talk to others about their pain management. Visit the pain clinic and see what is happening. Then, make a learned decision.

Be aware that while there are traditional, western-oriented pain clinics that a physician may approve of, there are alternative eastern-oriented healthcare pain clinics that the same physician may not approve of, depending upon his or her medical orientation. This is one of the reasons for the current controversy about pain clinics. Sometimes, physicians will highly recommend certain kinds of alternative treatments, but not recommend others. For instance, they may approve of meditation, but not acupuncture.

Different treatments will invariably render different results. There is no single, right answer for everyone who suffers from chronic pain, but there are answers for the majority of those who suffer from various kinds of chronic pain.

If you are a patient who has chronic pain, don't let anyone tell you that it is a hopeless situation or that an answer cannot be found for you. Begin to do some serious investigation and find an answer that is right for you!

(1) For further information regarding treatments, please refer to the following web site: http://www.mydoctor.ca/user/ASP/patientService.asp?id=1465&subSectionId=1