Make Pain a Thing of the Past – chronic pain – Physician Partners of America

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Telemedicine pain clinic

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Physician Partners of America Offers Telemedicine Option

For patients worried about leaving home to see their pain management doctor, Physician Partners of America (PPOA) is offering a solution: telemedicine. It allows patients to talk to their regular PPOA physician and order prescription refills.telehealth pain clinic

“We understand some people are under stay-at-home orders, and others are too high-risk to venture out, so we are using technology to bring our doctors to them,” says Josh Helms, COO of PPOA.

Some chronic pain patients may carry a higher risk of contracting the virus. For others, the dry cough associated with COVID-19 may aggravate some neck and spine pain. Patients should consult a primary care physician for testing and diagnosis. Current PPOA pain patients seeking guidance or medication management are encouraged to use our telemedicine option.

PPOA’s telemedicine service is simple to use. There is no complicated software to install. All that’s required is a telephone. Our scheduling team will handle all the details and paperwork through the HIPAA-compliant electronic medical records (EMR) system, just as they do for office visits. A team member will contact patients to confirm their phone call with the doctor, and the doctor will call at the pre-arranged time.

“Our telemedicine service can take the place of an in-office visit in many cases,” says Helms. “It’s an easy and HIPAA-compliant way to ensure our patients are getting what they need to ease their pain during this uncertain time.”

Visit our home page, click on Schedule Appointment, or call  888-412-6958, and set your telephone appointment today.

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Physician Partners of America Honors Pain Awareness Month

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Sharing Stories of Pain and Hope

“Everything I enjoyed caused me intense pain. It affects every aspect of your life,” says J.B., 49, one of our Texas pain patients. “Not until you get treatment do you realize you can live with less pain.”

More than 12,000 patients walk through our doors each month seeking pain relief treatment. J.B.’s is one of the many personal reflections we will share during September, which is Pain Awareness Month.

According to the American Chronic Pain Association, which organizes the annual event, about one in three people lives with intractable pain. Helping them manage and overcome it has been the mission at Physician Partners of America since 2013. We hear stories daily of people like J.B., who live with all types of chronic pain: degenerated discs, spinal stenosis, migraine, fibromyalgia, arthritis, cancer pain and diabetic neuropathy, among others. It is our goal to help each patient seek a path of pain relief.

How Many People Live with Chronic Pain?

During Pain Awareness Month, we are reminded of the startling numbers related to chronic pain:

  • It is the number one cause of adult disability in the U.S.
  • It affects 50 million Americans
  • It costs $100 billion per year in lost workdays, medical expenses and other benefit costs.
  • It is a social issue. As you will see from the stories we will present to you each day on social media, unmanaged chronic pain is isolating. It causes people to withdraw from friends, family and communities.

Interventional and Integrative Pain Management Approaches

Physician Partners of America practices interventional pain management. That means getting to the root cause of the pain and treating it as its source. Some types of pain can be relieved to a degree and others can be eliminated. Our pain management doctors work with our orthopedics and laser spine divisions to find the best course of treatment for each patient.

What about Opioids for Pain Treatment?

As Pain Awareness Month illustrates, the debate over opioids for pain continues to heat up. Nearly 2 million Americans have a disorder related to prescription painkillers, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

It’s important to remember that the opioid crisis stems from treatment of acute pain, the type that lasts less than three weeks. Historically, opioid medications were prescribed for short-term pain because they are effective.

“Opioids are very seductive drugs, but they work. You give opioids to somebody in pain and believe me, the pain goes away, but it only works for so long,” PPOA Chief Medical Officer Abraham Rivera, M.D., told a recent televised opioid town hall. “In the acute setting, they are phenomenal drugs. After that, the patient gets hooked on them. They’re extremely addictive.”

Strict prescription limits are now in place in many states as a result.

Physician Partners of America has long recognized the dangers of opioid addiction and uses effective options to treat the root cause of the pain versus masking it. They include:

  • Interventional pain management as a preferred treatment
  • Opioid antidotes prescribed along with every opioid-based prescription.
  • Medication management
  • Intraoperative neuromonitoring to avoid accidental nerve damage during surgery
  • Drug-genes testing to determine the right medication for each patient

New Prescribing Laws

Restrictive new laws are aimed at people with acute pain. PPOA’s pain management doctors specialize in chronic pain, which lasts more than three to six weeks. We do write prescriptions for opioid medications in select cases. Usually, these are patients who have been taking these medications for years just to function normally. However, we manage these types of prescriptions carefully.

PPOA doctors believe in reducing dosages wherever possible. PPOA founder Rodolfo Gari, M.D, MBA, recalls many successes. “I’ve had some really gratifying stories over the past 30 years – patients who come in with mega-doses of opioids and you wonder how they walked into your office.”

Pain Awareness Month is Just the Beginning

Neurostimulators and minimally invasive laser spine procedures are just some of the cutting-edge treatments PPOA uses in severe pain cases, along with nerve blocks, injections and minimally invasive laser spine procedures.

While we have seen many success stories, there is still a long way to go. The Food and Drug Administration held the first of several planned hearings with chronic pain patients in July. The agency aims to shape new guidelines to address concerns that some feel have been muted in addressing the opioid crisis.

PPOA will be watching with interest. We will keep key issues top of mind through Pain Awareness Month. We will continue to find a balance between patient safety and humane guidelines, practice interventional treatments, and wage a battle against chronic pain, one patient at a time.

 

 

 

 

 

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For Some, Topical Medications Can Replace Opioids

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Doctors have known for years that topical pain medications – those applied to the skin – are effective for some pain patients. Recently, however, they were surprised to learn that those creams, patches and ointments are more helpful than previously thought.

In fact, half of patients taking oral opioids stopped them after trying topicals, a recent study shows. Another 30 percent were able to quit using all types of pain medications and switch to topical analgesics.

The study, published in Clinical Focus: Pain Management Fast Track, surprised even its authors. “As a clinician active in the pain world, I have seen it [discontinuation of opioids] but certainly not at this magnitude,” study leader Jeffrey Grudin, M.D., told Practical Pain Management. Grudin is director of pain management and palliative care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey.

About the Topical Pain Medications Used

The study followed 121 chronic pain patients. After treatment with topical analgesics, 49 percent of those followed after three months and 56 percent of those followed up at six months said they had stopped using opioids altogether.

Another 31 percent followed up at three months, and 30 percent reporting at six months, said they were not taking any more pain medications. This included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), which target the inflammation   that causes most neck and back pain.

The patients who took part in the study suffered moderate symptoms of neuropathy, arthritis, radiculopathy, myofascial musculoskeletal or tendonitis pain.

The Most Effective Topical Pain Medications

The topical analgesics used in the study included diclofenac, ketoprofen and flubiprofen. Other topical pain medications readily available through pharmacies are also shown to be effective. They include baclofen, ketamine (3-5%) and lidocaine (7-8%).

More Research Needed

It is clear that more research needs to be done. The study was small, and 67 of 121 study participants dropped out before the six month follow-up. Still, the study shows this is one opioid alternative that holds promise for people suffering from chronic pain.

“Topical analgesics are effective for a variety of types of pain,” Dr. Grudin, the study leader told Practical Pain Management. “Our study supports the fact that we can eliminate opioid use in a certain percentage of patients with chronic pain conditions.”

 

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Fibromyalgia Pain Relief in Dallas

Fibromyalgia is defined as having chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain. Researchers believe that the root of fibromyalgia could be related to overactive nerves in the central nervous system, which may lead to heightened pain sensations. However, as anyone with the condition can tell you, the disorder goes far beyond isolated episodes of physical pain. The condition can also produce debilitating psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

Fibromyalgia can be triggered by physical or psychological trauma, or the condition may develop after major surgery. For many people, fibromyalgia seems to develop gradually with no discernible cause or trigger. This leads to frustration for many people, as they feel that the pain they’re experiencing is unexplained.

Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Fibromyalgia affects everyone differently. In general, women are more likely to experience fibromyalgia. The risk of fibromyalgia pain increases if you have a family history of the condition or if you have an autoimmune disease such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. People who struggle with fibromyalgia often have overlapping conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), jaw pain such as temporomandibular disorder (TMJ), migraine headaches, and restless leg syndrome.

The most common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

  • Fatigue
  • Insomnia
  • Lower abdomen cramping
  • Muscle spasms
  • Problems with memory and concentration
  • Widespread musculoskeletal pain

Fibromyalgia Treatment in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area

Because fibromyalgia can often develop without a clear cause, some people feel like there can be no clear treatment. Texas Pain Relief Group is here to tell you that treatment is available for this debilitating condition.

Chronic discomfort should not be a way of life, and our team of pain relief specialists is here to offer you a holistic treatment plan that focuses on both the physical and psychological aspects of fibromyalgia. From lifestyle modification and non-pharmacological treatments to pain relief injections, we offer a comprehensive range of fibromyalgia therapies.

Don’t struggle with chronic pain any longer. Get the help you need from pain specialists in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Contact Texas Pain Relief Group today to schedule an appointment

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The Dangers of Pain Patches and Cure-All Treatments

Tampa pain specialist Dr. Rodolfo Gari of Physician Partners of America recently appeared on the NBC program DayTime to talk about the benefits and draw-backs of over-the-counter pain relievers.

There are many companies who claim to have created a patch or pill that will significantly ease or completely eliminate chronic pain. In many cases these results are inflated or completely untrue.

While every patient’s chronic pain is different, it’s vital that any chronic pain relief regiment is decided on in conjunction with a medical professional. Chronic pain is a serious medical condition and requires a medical professional to appropriately treat and diagnose.

Watch the video here:

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Relieving work pain

Get relief from pain at work today

Tampa pain relief center specialist Dr. Rodolfo Gari recently appeared on WFLA’s show “DayTime”.

During his appearance he spoke about the kinds of chronic pain that can occur during work at the office or your place of work.

Dr. Gari calls pain the body’s “warning signal” that something more serious may be happening. At our three Tampa pain clinics in West Tampa, North Tampa and Carrollwood, our pain specialists can accurately diagnose and treat your chronic pain.

Watch the video here:

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Treating CRPS in Tampa

Get relief from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in Tampa

The pain that is associated with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS, can be debilitating and have a significant impact on an individuals quality of life.

Throughout her career, Tampa pain specialist Dr. Carissa Stone has treated patients whose pain levels were preventing them from being able to live their lives to the fullest.

But what causes CRPS?

“CRPS develops for unknown reasons and is a syndrome of findings with no other explainable cause,” said Dr. Stone.

Symptoms of CRPS can include temperature changes to a limb, pain when touching skin, pain or weakness in extremities with no motor damage,  and color changes to extremities with no vascular problems

“Usually doctors rule most other conditions out first because there used to be no treatment for CRPS,” Dr. Stone said.

CRPS is more common in women and the incidence of CRPS highest in women between the ages of 60-70, but all age groups can get it and there is no specific known cause at this time.

There are various options available for treating CRPS at our Tampa pain relief centers.

“Treatment options include the use of topical creams; neuropathic medications; sympathetic blocks and bier block injections; aggressive physical therapy to avoid disuse atrophy; desensitization treatment; and ketamine infusion therapy, Dr. Stone said.

In addition to these treatment options, Dr. Stone is also on the cutting edge of treatment options. She is currently involved in a new study into the effectiveness of the use if Intravenous Neridronic Acid for treating CRPS.

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CRPS Symptoms and Treatment

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CRPS: Recently Dr. Rodolfo Gari, Medical Director of Florida Pain Relief Group in Tampa, appeared on WFLA’s mid-day program called “DayTime” to talk about the symptoms and treatments related to CRPS, or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

Dr. Gari discusses the history of of the syndrome, going back to documented instances of chronic pain experienced by soldiers during the Civil War.

What makes CRPS unique is that the condition is a vicious cycle of chronic pain never reaches the brain and ends; rather, it goes in circles and never stops.

The pain specialists in Tampa with Florida Pain Relief Group have years of experience successfully treating patients who suffer from Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. You can schedule an appointment at our Tampa pain relief center locations in Tampa today.

Watch the video here:

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