Center for Pain Management

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By controlling your pain, St. James increases your overall quality of life

Pain is the most common symptom of disease. In fact, the majority of patients who come to the hospital do so because they are experiencing some form of pain. Fortunately, the Pain Management program at St. James offers many treatment options that until 10 years ago were not available. By seeking out the help of a trained pain management specialists, patients today are able to achieve a better quality of life.

Work and family: how pain affects everyone around you

Chronic pain can interfere with your ability to work, play with your children, get around or even care for yourself. While pain is not entirely a product of your mind, it can have a profound effect on your state of mind. If you or someone you know has chronic pain, you may notice irritability, anger, depression or difficulty concentrating. The psychological side effects of chronic pain can be as debilitating as the pain itself. This is what makes chronic pain such a complex condition.

How a trained pain management specialist can help

Patients can suffer for years with pain and without adequate treatment. Most often, they are not at fault. Pain management is a relatively new field, and many primary care physicians simply do not know what to do for patients beyond prescribing high dose pain medications. The pain management doctors at St. James are experts at diagnosing why you are having pain as well as treating the pain itself.

Common causes of acute and chronic pain

• Injuries from accidents, muscle strains and sports can result in stiffness, back pain or neck and shoulder pain.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals can cause critical headaches and other bodily pain from damage to internal organs.
• Surgery stimulates nerve fibers to signal pain. As the body begins to heal, pain should eventually stop. Yet, on rare occasions, pain may remain.
• Diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy is a serious complication of diabetes, causing severe burning pain, especially at night.
• Radiation therapy can result in mucositis pain, characterized by a burning or stinging sensation similar to neuropathic pain.
• Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes pain in your muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. The pain occurs in areas called “tender points.”
• Shingles Pain, also known as postherpetic neuralgia, affects some people after the rash of shingles has disappeared.