If you’ve been referred by your primary care physician to see a pain management doctor, you may be wondering what to expect from your first visit. First, you should know what a pain management doctor is. A pain management doctor has advanced training in the diagnosis and treatment of pain. They may be board-certified in internal medicine or orthopedics, but they’ve also received additional training in pain management.
Pain management doctors devote their time to helping patients with chronic pain achieve relief from symptoms. Pain doctors often see patients with head, neck, back, hip, and knee pain. Every pain doctor is different, but here’s generally what you can expect from your first visit.
Comprehensive Evaluation
The first visit involves an evaluation of your medical history, pain history, a physical exam, a pain assessment, and diagnostic tests. During the first visit, it’s important that you provide the doctor with all information about your condition, anything related to your pain, and your medical history. If you’ve taken medication before or undergone surgery, let your pain doctor know. Any diagnostic imaging you’ve had is also taken into account. The current medication and treatments you are on is also important information.
The doctor will ask specifically about your pain, its origins, severity, as well as treatments you have tried in the past. The evaluation stage is critical. Before any treatment or therapy is recommended, pain doctors take time to conduct a thorough evaluation of a patient’s pain. Diagnostic tests will help the doctor determine the source of the pain and recommend treatment based on the results of testing.
Many assume that all pain clinics only prescribe medication to patients as treatment, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the most reputable pain doctors do not believe in prescribing pain medication as the primary form of treatment, especially opioids. You can expect a customized treatment plan tailored to your unique needs that include nonsurgical and interventional pain treatments and complementary therapies.
What Patients Can Expect After The First Visit
After the first visit with a pain doctor, the most satisfied patients come away learning about their issue and how to manage it for relief through a customized treatment approach. Choose the most qualified pain doctor who takes the time to evaluate and treat their patients.
Pain Doctor in Austin, TX
Our pain specialists in Central Florida Spine & Pain begin treatment with a comprehensive evaluation of your condition. Our practice is headed by Dr. Nicholas Giordano, a board-certified physician specializing in interventional pain management. We offer all types of interventional pain management procedures, including some you won’t find anywhere else. We can treat pain wherever it occurs in the body, whether it’s in the neck, back, shoulder, arm, hip, or knee.
Pain has the tendency to hold people back from living their best life. Our pain specialists make it a goal to help our patients control their pain, so it doesn’t rule their lives. To make an appointment with a pain doctor, call (321) 802-5021 or use our convenient online request form.
