Driver’s license, photo identification, X-rays, MRIs films and/or reports, medical records if applicable, copays. You can save time by prefilling the new patient forms.
Our physician will get a detail history and perform an examination. We will discuss test results, order appropriate tests and recommend treatment plans. Please do not expect procedures to be performed at the initial visit because of time constraint or the need to obtain authorizations from your insurance.
This often depends on many factors, including but not limited to how long you have been experiencing pain, how severe is the underlying cause, your general health status and whether you maintain an active lifestyle. We don’t believe in doing injections when you are in minimal or no pain. Therefore, we reevaluate after each injection to determine whether there is a reason to repeat the injection or try something different. There is no rule in our practice to do a series of 3 injections.
The clinical duration of response varies. Patients reported their pain is improved from weeks to years. It is important to note that some injections are meant to be diagnostic only and not intended to last for a long period of time. Keeping a realistic expectation from these injections will always maximize your response to the overall treatment plan recommended by us.
Even if you have tried various treatments including injections at other pain clinics, we usually recommend trying again in our facility with our highly skilled and experienced physicians using our techniques and our advanced equipment. Prior treatments may have been ineffective for a variety of reasons and similar treatments provided by our expert practitioners may prove helpful and allow you to reduce or discontinue your reliance on controlled substances.
While we recognize pain medicines or controlled substances play a role in managing chronic pain conditions, we believe that we can usually find more effective alternatives for our patients. Consequently, we believe that a patient’s use of controlled substances on a long-term basis is a treatment of last resort and only for those patients who have failed all other treatments. Most of the procedures offered by our experienced specialists are well tolerated by the majority of patients. Most procedures are done in the office in less than 15 minutes and are very safe.
We may disagree with your previous physician on the medications and dosages being prescribed. Please understand that as medical professionals we have an ethical responsibility to provide you with what we consider to be appropriate medical care in keeping with the philosophy and principles we have established for our medical practice. If you do not agree with our philosophy or our approach to pain management, please let us know and we will try to help you find another pain clinic to treat your pain.
Most opioids suppress pain transmission to the brain. It is temporary and will never treat the source of the problem. There are numerous side effects associated with long term opioid use including constipation, physical dependence, psychological addiction and develop tolerance. Research studies showed the evidence for long-term effectiveness in relieving pain and improving functional status using opioids is weak.
We do not recommend patients to quit cold turkey because patients may experience physical withdrawl symptoms which include but not limited to sweating, heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. We recommend a tapering schedule while using alternatives to manage pain.
It is possible and we strongly recommend patients to maintain a healthy weight. Overweight or obese patients place a lot of physical stress on their body and joints. The stress can eventually lead to premature arthritis and degeneration. Obese patients are often sedentary and that will further accelerate the degenerative process. Regular, moderate cardiovascular exercise is one of the best ways to prevent arthritis progression. Please consult with us or your primary care doctor prior to initiating an exercise program.
