Interventional pain

[UTsd]

Is interventional pain considered a subset of pain management or an interchangeable term? How is it different if at all? Are certain pain fellowships more interventional in nature?

Sorry for the somewhat rudimentary question. I'm a med student just trying to gather information. Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ligament]

Is interventional pain considered a subset of pain management or an interchangeable term? How is it different if at all? Are certain pain fellowships more interventional in nature?

Sorry for the somewhat rudimentary question. I'm a med student just trying to gather information. Thanks!

ISIS leadership would argue that Interventional Pain Management should be a different specialty from Pain Medicine, which is already a recognized sub-specialty.

 

[Disciple]

ASIPP seems to think that as well.

 

[ghost dog]

Is interventional pain considered a subset of pain management or an interchangeable term? How is it different if at all? Are certain pain fellowships more interventional in nature?

Sorry for the somewhat rudimentary question. I'm a med student just trying to gather information. Thanks!

Hi,

Interventional pain management is a branch of medicine which treats (mainly) chronic intractable pain. It focuses on procedures where medication has failed to treat severe and (usually) constant pain that has a significant impact on many facets of a chronic pain patient's life. These patients are usually desperate for pain relief.

A few examples of interventional procedures in this field include:

Occipital nerve blocks - used for chronic headache - i.e. occipital neuralgia / cluster headache.

Cervical facet blocks - used for "whiplash" - also known as cervical facet joint syndrome.

Pulsed radiofrequency - this is a longer acting therapeutic modality, that can provide significant neck or back pain relief.

Lumbar epidurals - this can be useful for "sciatica" / herniated disc (leg dominant) pain.

This field of medicine is very satisfying, as a patient can obtain immediate significant pain relief in the office or procedure room. You have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives.

In the U.S., I believe the most common route to obtain a pain fellowship is by way of Anesthesia or Physiatry (PMR). I understand they can be quite competitive, although I'm not entirely sure about this, as I practice in Canada. Perhaps the American MDs can tell you more about this aspect of pain medicine.


GD.

 

[UTsd]

Hi,

Interventional pain management is a branch of medicine which treats (mainly) chronic intractable pain. It focuses on procedures where medication has failed to treat severe and (usually) constant pain that has a significant impact on many facets of a chronic pain patient's life. These patients are usually desperate for pain relief.

A few examples of interventional procedures in this field include:

Occipital nerve blocks - used for chronic headache - i.e. occipital neuralgia / cluster headache.

Cervical facet blocks - used for "whiplash" - also known as cervical facet joint syndrome.

Pulsed radiofrequency - this is a longer acting therapeutic modality, that can provide significant neck or back pain relief.

Lumbar epidurals - this can be useful for "sciatica" / herniated disc pain.

This field of medicine is very satisfying, as a patient can obtain immediate significant pain relief in the office or procedure room. You have the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives.

In the U.S., I believe the most common route to obtain a pain fellowship is by way of Anesthesia or Physiatry (PMR). I understand they can be quite competitive, although I'm not entirely sure about this, as I practice in Canada. Perhaps the American MDs can tell you more about this aspect of pain medicine.


GD.

Thanks for the explanation and going into detail. This was more or less my understanding of it as well.

How is interventional pain different from pain management though?

 

[ghost dog]

Thanks for the explanation and going into detail. This was more or less my understanding of it as well.

How is interventional pain different from pain management though?

Interventional pain management is a subdivision of pain management, where the interventionalists focus on procedures to alleviate suffering.

Other branches of pain medicine include medical management ; this branch of medicine typically makes use of NSAIDs, anti-convulsants, antidepressants, muscle relaxants and potentially opioid medication for the treatment of chronic pain. Pain physicians are the doctors who are most knowledgeable in chronic pain pathology, and have the most expertise in prescribing long acting opioid medications.

Another aspect of pain medicine is that of the multi-disciplinary pain clinic , where different types of health care practioners treat the chronic pain patient . In a typical multi-disciplinary clinic , there will be a psychologist, neurologist, anesthetist / intervenionalist , physiotherapist , occupational therapist and possibly a chiropractor. They all work together as a team to treat the patient.

 

[Disciple]

How is interventional pain different from pain management though?

Interventional pain is not really different from, but just a part of the ever expanding field of Pain Medicine.


Think, Cardiology before there were stents, angioplasty, etc.