Pain Medicine

Pain medicine is the field of medicine that specializes in diagnosing, treating, managing, and preventing acute or chronic pain. Pain can be caused by a variety of issues, such as injury, surgery, nerve damage, or metabolic problems, but it can also arise with no obvious cause. Persistent or intense pain often greatly affects a person’s life, including their decision-making processes, their ability to maintain relationships, and their happiness, so it is important for those who experience it to get help. As pain cases can be complex, it is best to seek out the knowledge and expertise of a trained pain medicine physician.

The goal of a pain medicine physician is to ease the suffering of their patients while working to help them gain a higher quality of life. As in many specialized fields, pain medicine physicians can come from a variety of backgrounds such as anesthesiology, neurology, or physical medicine and rehabilitation. While these backgrounds provide them with advanced medical knowledge, they have also received specialized training in diagnosing, treating, and managing patients with all types of pain, allowing them to combine many disciplines and treatments to provide their patients with the best outcomes.

At BASS Medical Group, our pain medicine specialists emphasize empathetic, patient-centered care as they understand the many issues and complexities that can arise in those dealing with pain. All are board-certified in pain medicine, with many holding additional certifications in other specialties as well. They see patients at offices and notable pain and spine centers across California, in both the Bay Area and Visalia. Our physicians specialize in non-surgical treatment methods, as well as minimally invasive out-patient procedures that result in both effective treatment and shorter recovery times. While they use cutting-edge techniques, they take a multidisciplinary approach to treating pain and understand that knowledge from other areas can be invaluable to high-quality care. Our pain specialists work with other medical providers such as surgeons, physician’s assistants, and nurse practitioners, as well as individuals such as massage therapists. Emphasis is place on individualized treatment plans, and our doctors encourage active patient participation in the education and treatment process.

Common Conditions

At BASS Medical Group, our pain specialists treat a broad spectrum of conditions including:

  • Arthritis
  • Bone spurs
  • Bulging disc
  • Cancer Related Pain
  • Chronic pain after knee or shoulder replacement
  • Complex regional pain syndromes (reflex sympathetic dystrophy; causalgia)
  • Failed Back Syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Headaches
  • Joint pain (knee hip, shoulder, elbow)
  • Myofascial pain syndromes
  • Neck, Back, or Spinal Pain
  • Pain after surgery (back, hernia, etc.)
  • Pelvic pain
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Pinched nerve
  • Sacroiliac pain syndromes
  • Sciatica
  • spinal stenosis
  • Work and sport-related injuries

As part of the diagnostic process, one of our qualified physicians will conduct a thorough examination of your health, including your daily life, activities, symptoms, and medical history. You may be asked to undergo an ultrasound, x-ray, MRI or EMG/NCS as part of your evaluation. For some, a diagnostic block with local anesthetic, guided by x-ray or ultrasound, may be used help localize the pain. After your evaluation, your doctor will recommend a comprehensive treatment plan that is tailored to your individual health and needs. While each patient is different, treatment plans often involve many modalities and can include a combination of medications, injections, therapies, lifestyle changes, or referrals to other health care professionals. Our physicians recognize that sometimes surgery can be unavoidable, and will help guide you through that process in the event it becomes necessary.

Services

Our pain medicine physicians perform a variety of procedures including:

  • Botox injection
  • Electromyography and nerve conduction studies
  • Epidural steroid injection
  • Facet joint blocks
  • Intrathecal pumps
  • Large joint injections (hip, knee, shoulder)
  • Medial branch blocks
  • Radiofrequency lesioning
  • Small joint injections (elbow, finger etc.)
  • Soft tissue injections
  • Spinal cord stimulation
  • Trigger point injections
  • Ultrasound guided nerve injections
  • Vertabroplasty

To learn more about what our pain medicine specialists can do for you, or to schedule an appointment, we invite you to visit their websites:

Pain Medicine Consultants (Bay Area)
Pacific Spine and Pain Center (Visalia)