Am I a candidate?
If your primary health care provider diagnoses you with chronic pain, they may refer you to a pain clinic. However, chronic pain may not be diagnosed until 3 to 6 months have passed since the onset of your symptoms. Furthermore, even after the pain has persisted beyond the normal time expected for healing, ruling out potential diseases and disorders underlying the pain can take time.
Your primary health care provider will first rely on detailed medical history and your description of symptoms to make a diagnosis or may refer you for a number of laboratory tests and imaging to pinpoint the location and cause of the pain.
Although you may prefer to receive pain care from your primary care provider after the diagnosis, you may later be referred to a pain clinic for tertiary care if:
- Treatment with acetaminophen, nonsteroidal drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen, corticosteroids, and opioids, and alternative therapies have failed to relieve your symptoms.
- You need nerve blocks or other injections to ease your pain.
- You desire the expertise of the program.
- You are concerned about the long-term use of opioids for pain management.
For more details on how to relieve or treat chronic pain, you can reach out to one of our pain specialists at any of our pain care clinic locations. We establish a caring relationship and provide patients with pain relief when needed the most. Contact us today at 289-724-6109 to educate yourself more and start an exercise regime appropriate and beneficial for relieving your chronic pain condition.