Why You Should Always Consult a Medical Professional About Pain Management

Pain is common — a signal your body uses to let you know something is off. Though the type, duration, and cause of pain varies, your emotional well-being plays a significant role in how you deal with your pain. That’s why everyone experiences pain in their own way and why no single treatment works for all. 

When you have pain that affects your physical, emotional, and social well-being, you need to consult with a medical professional about pain management.

At Orthopedic & Wellness in Frederick, Waldorf, and Germantown, Maryland, we understand pain. Our compassionate physicians — Dr. Ojedapo‌ ‌Ojeyemi ‌and‌ Dr. Matthew Roh — take an individualized approach to pain management, customizing plans that stop or minimize discomfort and allowing our patients to get back to doing the activities that bring them joy.

About your pain

The primary purpose of pain is to protect your body from harm. You have pain receptors all over your body. These receptors are attached to nerves that detect and deliver danger messages to your brain. One nerve delivers messages quickly, resulting in that sudden, severe pain, while the other nerve sends messages a bit slower, causing dull, throbbing pain. 

When you touch a hot stove, the pain receptors in your hand rapidly send the message to your brain triggering the muscle movement that causes you to pull your hand away so you don’t burn yourself. All of this happens before you even feel any pain.

Once you’re “out of danger,” your brain sorts out the information sent from the pain receptors. How you react to the pain once you’re out of danger depends on many factors like your past experiences, beliefs, and culture. This is what makes pain so complex and why it’s sometimes difficult to manage.

When it’s time to seek professional pain management

It’s normal to have pain following an acute injury or trauma. This type of pain usually goes away within a few days or a few weeks once the body heals. However, if you have a serious injury, consulting with a medical professional about pain management may support the healing process and prevent your acute pain from turning into a chronic pain condition.

Pain that lasts longer than three months is chronic pain. This type of long-term pain affects your physical, emotional, and social well-being and can cause other health problems like depression, anxiety, or insomnia. If you have chronic pain, you should consult with a medical professional about pain management. 

You also need expert help if your chronic pain interferes with your ability to manage your day-to-day activities or if your pain gets worse over time. There’s no need to suffer when you have medical professionals who can help.

Personalized care for pain relief

When you come in for pain management at Orthopedic & Wellness, we conduct a thorough evaluation to fully understand the cause of your pain and how it affects your life. We also perform diagnostic tests to find the root cause of your pain, which helps direct treatment. 

Because we’re a pain management practice, we offer many innovative treatments for pain relief, including:

• Corticosteroid injections
• Botox® injections 
• Epidural injections
• Trigger point injections
• Bursa injections
• Nerve blocks
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Spinal cord stimulation

We treat many pain conditions, including back pain, neck pain, and knee pain. Our goal is to create a plan that stops or significantly reduces your pain so it no longer runs your life.

Acute pain is normal, but when you have pain that affects your quality of life, it’s best to always consult with a medical professional about pain management. Our highly skilled physicians can provide the care you need.

Contact Orthopedic & Wellness at the location most convenient to you to schedule a pain management consultation with us today. You can call the office or use our convenient online booking tool to make your appointment.