The Top Doctors Specializing in PAIN MANAGEMENT in VA

A pain management specialist is a doctor who evaluates your pain and treats a wide range of pain problems. A pain management doctor treats sudden pain problems such as headaches and many types of long-lasting, chronic, pain such as low back pain. Patients are seen in a pain clinic and can go home the same day. Pain management doctors offer a mix of medication-based treatments and procedures, that can stop the pain at its source. The types of pain treated by a pain management doctor fall into three main groups. The first is pain due to direct tissue injury, such as arthritis. The second type of pain is due to nerve injury or a nervous system disease, such as a stroke. The third type of pain is a mix of tissue and nerve injury, such as back pain. Disorders that cause pain due to tissue injury include Osteoarthritis (wear and tear arthritis in the large joints: knees, hips), Rheumatoid arthritis (arthritis due to an autoimmune reaction – felt in small joints like fingers, wrists), Nerve or nervous system disorders that cause pain, Stroke (post-stroke pain), Multiple sclerosis, Spinal cord injury, Neuropathy (nerve pain due to shingles, HIV, diabetes), Mixed pain disorders, Neck pain, Back pain, and Cancer. Pain management doctors have over nine years of medical training. First, they gain a broad education in medical school. Then, they get another four years of hands-on training in a field like anesthesiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or neurology. Finally, they complete another year of training, that focuses solely on treating pain. This leads to a certificate from the American Board of Pain Medicine.