Frequently Asked Questions About Our Chronic Pain Treatment

At a high level, the practice of pain management is a focused approach to diagnosing the source(s) of pain and formulating treatment plans that reduce or eliminate pain. However, accurately diagnosing and effectively treating pain requires an individualized approach. This is because pain is handled through the sensory and emotional processing areas of the brain, both of which are subject to highly individualized characteristics and experiences that can change over time.

Therefore, effective pain management requires a skillful combination of multiple medical specialties, including neurology, anesthesiology, orthopedics, physical therapy, pharmacology, and psychology. At the center of this multi-specialty approach is the patient, who acts as the sole gauge of treatment effectiveness and is completely relied upon for accurate, unbiased reporting of treatment effectiveness and outcomes.

Our mission at Advanced Surgical Group is to definitively diagnose the source of chronic pain and to provide an evolving course of treatment that maximizes pain relief through the active participation of patients in his/her own therapy with the lowest possible dose of opioid pain relievers. We will provide these healthcare services by developing and fostering mutual respect between our patients and staff, which is intended to ensure mutual accountability and integrity throughout the delivery of care.

We almost exclusively work with patients suffering from conditions involving chronic pain, which is defined as pain lasting longer than three months. Most medical conditions involving pain are resolved, along with the pain, through the body’s normal healing process. However, we most commonly treat chronic pain involving conditions such as:

• Herniated discs in the Low back radiating down one or both legs
• Low back
• Neck and arm pain
• Spinal pain
• Sciatica, nerve pain
• Degenerative disc disease
• Shoulder, neck, and arm pain
• Muscle Pain, joint, and Arthritis pain
• Pain after back or neck surgery
• Complex chronic pain
• Cancer pain
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD)/Complete regional pain syndrome
• Vascular disease pain
• Diabetic pain

This term is most commonly defined as a medical doctor (M.D.) or doctor of osteopathy (D.O.) who specializes in pain medicine. However, a medical specialist is most often associated with the completion of focused education, training, and experience in a field of medicine, as demonstrated through the board certification process. Typically, holding board certification in Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and/or Anesthesiology would justify the designation as a pain management doctor/specialist.

Chronic pain is most often defined as pain lasting longer than three months, which is the period that the body typically needs to repair itself after an injury or illness. This pain may not be constant, but frequent enough that it interferes with daily functions and the enjoyment of life.

Acute pain usually comes on suddenly and is caused by something specific. It is sharp in quality. It is a type of pain that typically subsides during the body’s normal healing process.

We tailor pain treatment for each individual, which includes one or more of the following:

• Prescription medications, including analgesics
• Joint injections: (Shoulder, Knee, Hip, SIJ injection, etc.)
• Epidural injections: (Cervical/Thoracic/Lumbar)
• Facet joint injections: (Cervical/Thoracic/Lumbar)
• Sympathetic blocks (Stellate Ganglion, Lumbar)
• Epidurolysis (Caudal Epidural steroid injection and Lysis of adhesion)
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Spinal cord stimulation
• Chiropractic
• Physical therapy
• Acupuncture
• Water therapy
• Massage therapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Nutrition