Open Access

Pain Management

Generally, pain management that is offered at a pain clinic includes a combination of therapies. These treatments include medications, physical therapy, and nerve blocks. In addition, massage therapy is often an effective treatment for pain relief, swelling, and stress. Goals for pain management should be written in the plan of care and may include the patient expresses adequate pain relief, minimal side effects from the analgesic regimen, maintenance or improvement in functional status, or satisfaction with pain management. The treatment of pain is guided by the history of the pain, its intensity, duration, aggravating and relieving conditions, and structures involved in causing the pain. In order for a structure to cause pain, it must have a nerve supply, be susceptible to injury, and stimulation of the structure should cause pain. The concept behind most interventional procedures for treating pain is that there is a specific structure in the body with nerves of sensation that is generating the pain. Pain management has a role in identifying the precise source of the problem and isolating the optimal treatment.