Can interventional pain management physicians find the cause of my pain?
Pain specialists are not only experts at treating pain but also at helping to diagnose the source of pain. They will conduct a physical examination and review your medical records in addition to analyzing the description of your pain. Sometimes supplemental diagnostic studies are helpful. More importantly, interventional pain physicians recognize the fact that the precise cause of back pain is determined in only 15% of the patients based on all x-rays, CT scans, myelograms, MRIs, EMGs, nerve conduction studies and history and physical examination. With the help of modern technology, using precision diagnostic techniques with injection of small doses of local anesthetic (numbing medicine) close to the nerves (pain sources) or other structures under x-ray, we can determine the cause of pain in at least 80% of the patients (vs. 15%).
