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Anyone who lives with a chronic pain condition has probably been directed towards a dedicated pain clinic at some point or another. But to people who have never been, what they actually do there is a bit of a mystery. And you might be a little hesitant to try one out. After all, what can a pain clinic do for you that your doctor can’t?
Not to mention that you’re probably tired of getting shuffled from one medical center to the next, right? But visiting a pain clinic might actually be a good choice for a few reasons. And if you give it a chance, you might be glad you did. So what does a pain clinic do exactly? What can you expect when you get there? And how can you find a good pain clinic near you?
What Does A Pain Clinic Do?
Pain clinics are dedicated to treating patients who deal with chronic, difficult-to-treat pain conditions like fibromyalgia. Most often, people end up here after a referral from a doctor after their pain proves too difficult to be treated with a simple prescription. Pain clinics offer a wide variety of services that a regular health care provider can’t offer.
A good pain clinic employs a number of health care professionals who specialize in diagnosing and treating pain. They focus on getting to the bottom of what causes the chronic pain their patients experience and treating it.
Pain clinics offer a number of different treatments like massage, medications, and nerve blockers. They can provide specialized treatments for dealing with chronic pain that a general practitioner’s office can’t provide.
What To Expect When You Go
When you first arrive at the pain clinic, a doctor who specializes in treating chronic pain will ask you some basic questions to try and figure out what’s causing your pain. They will then try to form an effective treatment regimen for you. Your doctor might suggest a few different therapies and ask what sort of treatment you are interested in. And they may prescribe medications that they believe will help.
The advantage of going to a dedicated pain clinic is that the health care professionals there will have a lot of experience treating people with chronic pain. And they have probably seen patients with your specific condition before. That means they know which therapies tend to be effective.
And pain clinics often have a number of alternative therapies that you might want to try like acupuncture or massage. Many pain clinics also offer physical therapy. The doctors at the pain clinic will combine expertise to provide you with a range of effective treatments rather than simply prescribing you some drugs and shooing you out the door.
How To Find A Good Pain Clinic Near You
If you’re interested in finding a pain clinic near you, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, be very wary about finding a reputable clinic. An unfortunate reality of the opioid crisis is that many clinics are run as what’s commonly called “pill mills“. These clinics exist only to prescribe opioids to people who are dependent on them rather than helping patients.
There are a few signs to watch out for when choosing a pain clinic. If the waiting room is crowded with people waiting to get a prescription, that’s an obvious indication that they are simply rushing people in and out rather than offering an adequate evaluation. Second, many of these pill mills only take cash, which should be an immediate red flag.
Only visit pain clinics that are well-established and certified by the relevant legal bodies. Check online for credentials and reviews. Make sure that the doctors at the clinic seem interested in really helping you and offer other therapies than simply prescribing painkillers. Ask what sort of training and credentials their doctors have.
One of the best ways to find a reputable clinic is to ask your primary care doctor for a referral. They may have a clinic that they regularly send patients to. In addition, you can often find a list of certified clinics in your area by checking with your state’s licensing board.
Finally, the US Department of Health and Human Services’s website has a database you can search to find a clinic near you. You can check it here. Just remember to do your research. The quality of the pain clinic you visit will determine the quality of the care you get.
So let us know, do you visit a pain clinic for your fibromyalgia? Can you recommend a good one in your area? Let us know in the comments.
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