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Physiatry and pain management

Prevea's pain management physicians and providers can help reduce pain, strengthen muscles and restore mobility.

man grips upper arm in pain after exercising outdoors

Why choose Prevea for the evaluation and management of pain conditions?

Everyone experiences pain at some point in their lives, but chronic pain isn’t something you should live with. By working with your physician or provider, you can reduce your pain, strengthen your muscles and restore mobility for the healthy and active lifestyle you deserve.

Physiatrists, also known as Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, treat a wide range of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons. PM&R physicians are experts on developing comprehensive, patient-centered treatment plans that restore function and improve quality of life.

Education for lifestyle modifications

Prevea Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physicians can provide patients with support and education for lifestyle modifications to help manage pain. This could include information on healthy eating, creating exercise plans and support with weight management.

Imaging and radiology services and procedures

Our physiatrists utilize imaging and radiology procedures to diagnose and treat pain. This includes bone density scans, electrodiagnostic studies, MRI services at partnered HSHS hospitals, nerve conduction studies, ultrasounds/ultrasound guided procedures, and X-rays.

Injections to treat and manage pain

Pain treatment can include injections, such as botulinum toxin injections for migraines, spasticity and cervical dystonia, epidurals, joint injections, nerve blocks, prolotherapy, sacroiliac joint injections, spinal injections and trigger point injections.

Osteopathic manipulative treatment options

Osteopathic medicine focuses on the muscular and skeletal systems, and osteopathic manipulation can help with pain, sports medicine, concussions, headaches, low back pain, scoliosis, COPD, asthma, newborns and infants, and pain related to pregnancy.

Conditions

Prevea physicians and providers see patients to evaluate and treat a variety of acute and chronic pain conditions. This includes:

Carpal tunnel syndrome
Loss of movement or sensation in an arm or leg
Pinched nerves in the neck or back
Sciatica

Arm or leg pain, numbness or weakness
Herniated disc
Lower back pain
Whiplash

Arthritis
Challenges faced by amputees
Degenerative spine, spinal stenosis
Spinal deformity
Whiplash

Arthritis
Back pain
Chronic pain
Degenerative joint diseases
Musculoskeletal disorders
Neurological conditions
Rheumatologic disorders
Spinal cord injuries
Sports injuries
Strokes
Traumatic brain injuries

Treatments

Treating chronic pain often requires a multi-faceted and integrated approach for our mind and body, which can include:

Partnering with a clinical psychologist/behavioral care provider who can provide us with the tools to empower us with life skills that minimize pain, instead of reinforcing or amplifying it.
Medication and interventional procedures such as epidurals and nerve blocks, which can effectively reduce inflammation or minimize the sensation of pain.
Corrective care to the muscles or joints often gets to the root of the cause. Depending on the individual’s type of pain, treatment options may include: dietary changes, targeted home exercises, osteopathic manipulative medicine, chiropractic care, physical therapy or surgery.

Based on the type or cause of chronic pain, an individual may have a specialty care team consisting of: pain specialists/physiatrists, clinical psychologists/behavioral care therapists, physical therapists, chiropractors, neurologists, neurosurgeons, rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists. Each person’s individual care team works together to not only reduce the pain, but to help the individual rediscover a life they can once again enjoy.

To treat chronic pain, one needs to understand how pain is physiologically experienced and registered in our body, how it affects our body structure and mechanics, and how pain is the connection to the mental and emotional centers of our brain.

The more individuals understand the pain they are experiencing, the better equipped they are to deal with pain. One item that must be addressed is a sense of loss of control. For most of a person’s life, when they got hurt, they soon recovered after the injury healed. With chronic pain, however, they have something they can’t control or get rid of.

An important part of the healing process is to understand how an individual’s loss of control due to pain can spill over into other areas of life. It can affect relationships at work and at home and affect their ability to deal with life’s challenges, which can lead to increased anxiety and depression. Eventually, pain can become the focus of life.