In 2016, statistics showed that around 20.4% of US adults suffer from chronic pain. Given the fact that you have visited this page, I am assuming that you are one of those adults suffering from pain, am I right?
If pain has become the most dreaded part of your regular life, then it is about time that you pay a visit to a pain management doctor. However, you should be warned that finding pain management doctors can be a challenging task. There are so many things to consider, bases to cover, and questions to ask.
With that in mind, you might be asking—how can I find pain management doctors near me? Well, you should read this article to find out!
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How Can Pain Management Doctors Help You
Before we go on our little witch hunt, you would surely want to know first how a pain management doctor can be able to help you. What exactly can they do for you?
According to the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), a pain management doctor is a physician who has specialized training in evaluating, diagnosing and treating all kinds of pain.
Some of the conditions that a pain management doctor can treat are the following:
- Knee and Back pain
- Head Pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Neck Pain
- Hip Pain
- Nerve Pain
- Arthritis
- Sciatica
The goal of these professionals is to help alleviate your pain and improve the quality of your life. The first thing that the doctor will do is to perform tests that can help diagnose your condition or at the very least, the cause of your pain.
After pinpointing the problem, the doctor can help establish a pain management plan that is suitable for your condition. This plan may include medications, pain management techniques (physical, psychological, and behavioral) and if needed, surgery or other medical procedures.
To know more about what these doctors do, please watch this video:
How to Find Pain Management Doctors Near Me
The best and most common way to find pain management doctors near you is by visiting a pain management clinic. This is a health care facility which focuses on the diagnosis as well as the management of chronic pain.
There are two types of pain management clinic. The first one is a clinic that focuses on treating certain types of pain such as back and neck pain. The other one is called an interdisciplinary clinic which approaches pain by looking at the whole person.
To find the right pain management clinic that is suitable for your condition, it is crucial that you ask your general practitioner for a referral. You can do this by calling your local medical center or hospital. You can also seek recommendations from your local pain support group.
Lastly, you may also take a look at the list of pain management clinics in the Center for Advance Palliative Care.
In addition to doctors, the team of pain management clinics may also include psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, dietitians, nutritionists, vocational and occupational therapists.
Read more: Top 5 Best Essential Oils for Pain Relief 2020 – Reviewed and Compared!
Other Options to Try
Aside from a pain management clinic, there are a lot of other ways on how you can find pain management doctors near you. These are as follows:
- Talk with your insurance company.
If you have a medical or health insurance, then you should know the fact that your choice of pain management doctors will be limited by the list of doctors affiliated with your insurance company.
Because of this, it is essential that you inquire with them a list of their affiliated healthcare providers and you can start your search with it.
- Talk to your friends and family.
When it comes to healthcare providers, word of mouth is important. This is most especially true if these are opinions of your friends and family.
It is true that you will learn a lot by reading reviews from previous patients. But with your friends and family, you are assured that your family and friends will have your best interests at heart.
Because of this, it is best that you ask your family and friends if they know a pain management doctor who they can recommend to you.
- Do an online search.
If you want to keep your search as quick and simple as possible, a simple online search is what you need to do. You can simply type in the keyword “pain management doctors near me” in the search engine, and a list of websites will pop up.
In addition to the websites of pain management doctors, you can also find sites that will list down pain management doctors near you. Aside from their names, these websites will also include relevant information like the following:
- Certification and qualifications
- Memberships and affiliations
- Patient reviews
- Contact information
- Types of treatment that they offer
- Specialization
- If any disciplinary actions were taken against them
How to Choose Pain Management Doctors
Once you get started on your search, you will discover that you have plenty of options for pain management doctors. In fact, you may find that narrowing it down can be a bit difficult. You can only do that by considering the following factors:
Education
Not all doctors are pain management specialists so you should not just choose any doctor. To know that you are talking with the right medical expert, he must have earned either an osteopathic or medical degree from a renowned medical institution.
Additionally, he must have passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USML). He should have also chosen Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Physical Medicine, Physical Rehabilitation, Neurology, Psychiatry, Radiology, and Family Medicine for their residency program.
Fellowship and Certifications
After the residency, the doctor must pass the American Board of Medical Specialties (AMBS) certification. He must also be certified by the American Board of Pain Medicine (ABPM).
Medical Specialty
As mentioned above, the specialty of a doctor may vary, and it is important that you choose a doctor with the right medical specialty for your condition. Typically, the specialty of a pain management doctor falls under three categories—headache and migraine, back and neck pain, and neuropathic pain.
Final Words
Finding a reliable pain management doctor is not as easy as you think it would be. You will come across a lot of challenges, but if you stick to the information provided in this article, you can surely find the doctor that can help you with your pain.
We do hope that this article can finally find the answer to the question that you have long been asking— how can I find pain management doctors near me?
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