Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health
The origins of pain can be a lot of different things.
Pain can be acute and fleeting. It can be dull and ongoing. It can be intensely localized, or hard to pin down. It can throb or sting, or tingle or stab. So a pain clinic needs to involve a lot of medical professionals from several disciplines.
“And so, in our clinic, we have physical therapists, we have psychologists, we have physicians who manage medications, but we also have physicians that do interventional work. They do spine injections, for example,” said Chris Gappmayer, senior practice director for the Intermountain Health Medical Group.
Gappmayer said they just opened a new pain clinic at Utah Valley hospital to ensure patients in that area have access to the care they need.
“The reality is that about 20% of people in the country have chronic pain and live with chronic pain. It's easy to wonder if anybody understands, but it can be a huge relief to know that there are people who understand it, who want to help, and that they will dive into your specific needs, as opposed to just saying, well, let's, let's write you a prescription and send you on your way,” said Gappmayer.
One way to think about asking for a pain clinic’s help can focus on control in two ways.
Are you using interventions already that make you feel healthy and in control, or is the pain still controlling important aspects of your life?
On the flip side, is your intervention scaring you as much or more than the pain? Perhaps you feel like you are losing control, getting chemically dependent on opioids, alcohol, or something else.
Click here for more information on Intermountain Utah Valley’s Pain Clinic and pain management.
