What is Pain Management?

Pain management, or pain medicine, is a growing medical specialty dedicated to treating acute, sub-acute, and chronic pain. The goal of pain medicine is to improve quality of life and help patients return to everyday activities without surgery.

Spine and Pain Consultants of New York provides a comprehensive approach to treat different types of pain including complex pain syndromes. Our medical team works with your referring physician, physical and chiropractic therapists, surgeon, oncologist, and psychiatrist or psychologist to provide a high level of quality and effective pain care.

Acute, Sub-acute and Chronic Pain

Pain is generally classified as being acute or chronic. Acute pain begins quickly or suddenly and may be severe. Sub-acute pain is defined as being between acute and chronic. Depending on the cause, acute pain may last 3 to 6 months. Chronic pain is persistent and may be mild or severe. It is defined as pain lasting longer than 6 months. It is well documented that if acute pain is not treated appropriately it can progress to chronic pain.

Patient Pain Evaluation

Dr. Canty will begin care by reviewing your medical history and evaluating your physical and neurological condition to find the source of your pain.  He may ask when the pain started and if is it associated with an event such as injury; has the pain changed in intensity or duration, what relieves or aggravates your pain; and are there associated symptoms such as nausea or weakness. If you have kept a pain diary, this information is of significant value.

An in depth discussion of your pain includes its location(s), duration, and intensity. The doctor may ask you to rate your pain on a scale of zero to ten with 10 being the worst pain possible. Alternatively, you may be asked to note on a picture of the front and back of body where you feel pain and designate its type (i.e. burning, sharp, or shooting) and intensity (0 through 10). Pediatric patients use a pain face diagrams to help them explain their pain.

 Dr.Canty may order a CT scan, MRI, or other imaging study to further evaluate your pain and diagnose its cause. Many types of spinal injections provide valuable diagnostic information such as a medial nerve branch block or discography.

Treatment Options

Depending on many factors, such as the type of pain and your general health, treatments may be combined. Some patients are surprised to learn that a treatment that failed to provide relief in the past is now effective when combined with one or more therapies.