Pain Management Choices

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Consumers often run into difficulties when
choosing between Pain Management Doctors. The
choice is often driven by insurers and referrals
from primary care doctors. This often leaves the
patient feeling helpless and not involved in
their own health care decisions. In addition,
patients are often unaware of choices they have
in how to manage their chronic pain. A common
first line of Pain Management is the use of
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications
(NSAIDS). These medications are more benign than
the addictive opiates but do pose health risk
when used long term. These risks include
gastrointestinal ulcers or bleeding and kidney
damage. This method of management is often
covered by insurance.
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A second and often over utilized method for
chronic Pain Management are opiate based
medications. These medications are addictive and
can lead to organ damage, lower sex hormones,
constipation and excess sedation. Again, this
method is often covered by insurance. Injections
such as epidurals, nerve ablations and trigger
points are other methods used for pain control.
These are costly and often have coverage limited
by insurers. They are also invasive and often
require the use of steroid medications which also
limit their long term use. Physical therapy is
another modality used for pain control. It is
sometimes covered by insurance but often limited
by insurers in treating chronic conditions. It
has the drawback of requiring frequent visits but
avoids the possibility of medication side effects.
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Acupuncture is a under utilized modality for pain
treatment. Despite being used for thousands of
years, acupuncture comes with some controversy.
Many insurance plans will not or have very
limited coverage for acupuncture and only with
premium plans. Inconsistency in coverage can be
found even with government plans. The Defence
Department and Veterans Administration use
acupuncture. However, Medicaid and Medicare do
not cover acupuncture often citing it as
experimental or unproven. Patients need to
be informed as to their choices of  Pain
Management and understand that their options can
often be dictated by insurance coverage. Many
times a patients health can be better served by
avoiding the my insurance doesnt cover that
trap. A course of treatment of acupuncture is a
sound investment when weighed against the
potential detrimental side effects of chronic
medication use. At the very least, acupuncture
can help decrease the amount of medication
needed. At our Marietta Pain management office
our goal is to have you pain free without
pills!  
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Whether seeking auto injury treatment or a Pain
Management Doctor to treat chronic pain, the
patients treatment is often guided by a system
favouring treatment modalities for monetary
reasons and not the patients health. Auto injury
attorneys will more often than not, have no
problem with a patient receiving opiate based
treatment for auto injuries. However, these same
attorneys will often refuse to argue on their
patients behalf in recouping monies spent on
acupuncture treatment. Some will even go so far
as to ask that their clients not receive
acupuncture. This policy is potentially
detrimental to the patient/clients long term
health. As there is no risk for dependence or
overdose with acupuncture.
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