What Is Pain Management?
Pain management, or pain control, is a branch of medicine that uses an interdisciplinary approach to help people suffering from acute or chronic pain. A pain management team may include medical practitioners, pharmacists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, and nurses. Pain sometimes resolves promptly once the underlying trauma or pathology has healed, and is treated by one practitioner, with drugs. In other cases, a team of different doctors is necessary to manage a person’s pain.
What Drugs Are Used
There are various medications to manage pain; from over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen to manage mild pain, to prescription drugs including hydrocodone and tramadol to manage acute or chronic, intractable pain. ” It is important to differentiate between acute pain- typically pain within the first 7 days perhaps after a major surgery – and chronic pain which will last greater than 3 months,” explained Dr. Suneil (Neil) Jolly in a recent interview with New Orleans CityBusiness. “With acute pain it’s very plain and simple. Opioids may indeed be appropriate to use in that setting. We’re talking about major knee replacements, hip replacements, back surgeries where patients may benefit from a seven-day supply.” Dr. Jolly, who is a board-certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain physician with Louisiana Pain Specialists, says he advocates for interventions first. Injections, physical therapy, surgery, and non-opioid therapy or other procedures that could be options for pain relief.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided physicians with some guidelines to design a plan of care when it comes to opioid management. For more information visit: https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/Guidelines_Factsheet-a.pdf