Of the estimated 70 million Americans affected by chronic pain, many fail to talk about it with their primary care doctors or medical specialists. Some people are silent because they’re unaware of available treatment options that might help them. Others fear they might be perceived as a “bad patient” or “weak.”
“Even if you’re being treated with medications, persistent pain should always be discussed with your doctor whether your pain persists after a previous surgery or an injury that has long-since healed, or from a spinal problem or ongoing medical condition, such as CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), fibromyalgia or cancer,” said anesthesiologist and pain management specialist Michael E. Goldberg, M.D., Chief of Anesthesiology at Cooper University Hospital and Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
“Oftentimes, if one therapy isn’t effectively controlling your pain, it’s possible that another therapy can,” he said. “When you talk with your primary care doctor or medical specialist about your unremitting or worsening pain, that doctor can refer you for evaluation by a pain-management physician, who is specially trained in the pathophysiology and treatment of pain,” Dr. Goldberg said.
Cooper’s Pain Management Center, which is co-directed by Cooper anesthesiologists Richard A. Domsky, M.D., and Robert A. Hirsh, M.D., specializes in diagnosing patients’ pain and properly treating the pain itself. Most treatments are non-surgical interventions designed to offer relief to those with difficult-to-treat pain, as well as to those desiring therapeutic relief as an alternative to surgery. For some patients, the Center recommends implantable technologies, such as peripheral nerve or spinal cord stimulators, which are offered in conjunction with the Center’s specialized neurosurgical team.
By using a multi-disciplinary, team-approach to pain diagnosis, evaluation and treatment, Cooper’s Pain Management Center offers patients the expertise of several clinical specialists, including anesthesiologists, neurologists, physiatrists, oncologists and psychiatrists. Also part of Cooper’s pain-management team is a host of other medical and behavioral specialists, including occupational and physical therapists, psychologists, supportive-care specialists, social workers, and alternative- and complementary-medicine specialists and therapists.
“Cooper’s Pain Management Center offers patients the advantage of comprehensive service and personalized care to address all of the issues that affect patients with serious pain,” Dr. Goldberg said.
Conditions treated at the Center include:
- Cancer pain
- Facial, head and neck pain
- Low back pain
- Myofacial pain (muscle)
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (chronic, progressive neurological condition affecting the skin, muscles, joints and bones)
- Facet Arthropathy (mechanical disorder of the facet joints connecting the vertebrae in the spine, caused by degenerative disc disease or arthritis)
Types of treatments offered at the Center include:
- Nerve blocks—injection of pain medication into a single or group of nerves that causes/cause pain to a specific organ or body region
- Cervical epidural, thoracic epidural, and lumbar epidural block (neck and back)
- Cervical plexus block and cervical paravertebral block (shoulder and upper neck)
- Brachial plexus block, elbow block, and wrist block (shoulder/arm/hand, elbow, and wrist)
- Subarachnoid block and celiac plexus block (abdomen and pelvis)
Sympathetic nerve block: A sympathetic nerve block is one that is performed to determine if there is damage to the sympathetic nerve chain. This is a network of nerves extending the length of the spine. These nerves control some of the involuntary functions of the body, such as opening and narrowing blood vessels.
Stellate ganglion block: This is a type of sympathetic nerve block performed to determine if there is damage to the sympathetic nerve chain supplying the head, neck, chest or arms and if it is the source of pain in those areas. Although used mainly as a diagnostic block, the stellate ganglion block may provide pain relief in excess of the duration of the anesthetic.
Facet joint block: Also known as a zygapophysial joint block, the facet joint block is performed to determine whether a facet joint is a source of pain. Facet joints are located on the back of the spine, where one vertebra slightly overlaps another. These joints guide and restrict the spines movement.
Trigger point injection (TPI) is a procedure used to treat painful areas of muscle that contain trigger points, or knots of muscle that form when muscles do not relax. Many times, such knots can be felt under the skin. Trigger points may irritate the nerves around them and cause referred pain, or pain that is felt in another part of the body.
Spinal diagnostics and discography
Cooper’s Pain Management Center provides services at two convenient locations: Three Cooper Plaza, Suite 314, Camden, New Jersey; and 900 Centennial Boulevard, Voorhees, New Jersey.