Collin County Living Well Magazine July/August 2018 | Page 48

Pain, Pain Go Away
Chronic pain doesn’t have
to be your everyday reality.
Courtesy Baylor Scott & White Health
W
specialist.
e all eventually discover that life holds little
aches and pains here and there. But some-
times little pains become big ones, or pain
grabs hold and won’t let go. That’s when it
might be time to consult a pain management
“A pain management specialist works to prevent, diagnose
and treat chronic pain conditions almost anywhere in the
body,” says Robert Haynsworth, MD, a pain management
specialist on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White Med-
ical Center – Plano.
Make a Plan
Although these specialists most frequently treat neck, spine
and lower back pain, they also deal with pain in the ex-
tremities, postoperative pain, joint pain and headaches.
To treat chronic pain successfully, pain management cen-
ters bring together an interdisciplinary team of physician
specialists and trained health professionals who can create
a personalized treatment plan for each patient. Goals of
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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2018
treatment include:
• Identifying and eliminating the source of pain,
when possible
• Minimizing physical and emotional symptoms,
including depression, anxiety or anger
• Decreasing any disability caused by the pain
• Helping patients resume a more productive role at
home and work
Take Action
Treatment involves interventional procedures, medications,
physical therapy and other tools to reduce and, if possible,
eliminate a person’s pain.
For example, an epidural steroid injection relieves pain
caused by a degenerated spinal disk through decreasing
swelling and inflammation.
“Facet joints in the spine are another common source of
pain,” notes Dr. Haynsworth. “If a patient doesn’t get long-