The Benefits of a Multidisciplinary Approach to Pain Management

Pain is a complex and multifaceted experience that affects millions of people worldwide. Chronic pain affects about 50 million adults, and if you're one of those 50 million adults, you know that issues like back pain can significantly diminish your quality of life, affect your physical function, zap your emotional wellness, and limit your social interactions. 

Acute pain is even more common, with an estimated 115 million ER trips each year for acute pain. And that counts visits to the ER. It doesn't account for trips to urgent cares or people who are self-treated at home.

Traditional pain management methods often focus on medication and surgical interventions. At the same time, there's a time and place for traditional pain management, those two options alone aren't your only solutions.

At International Spine, Pain & Performance Center, our multidisciplinary team goes beyond medication management to help you find the relief you need. 

Please take a moment as the team defines our approach and shares the many benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management. 

What does it mean to have a multidisciplinary approach?

A multidisciplinary approach to pain management involves a team of healthcare professionals from various specialties working together to create a holistic treatment plan tailored specifically to you. 

Here at International Spine, Pain & Performance, our team includes:

• Board-certified physicians specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation and/or pain medicine 
• Fellowship-trained interventional pain medicine physicians
• Physician assistants  
• Nutrition specialists 
• Sports medicine specialists 
• Physical therapists

Our team is diverse — with a wide range of specialists focusing on specific niches — and utilizes many interventional pain treatments. Interventional pain treatments are treatments that aim to target the root cause of your pain. 

Benefits of a multidisciplinary approach

If you’re dealing with pain, there are many reasons to consider care from a multidisciplinary team. A multidisciplinary approach to pain management leads to:

Personalized care

Each specialist brings their expertise to evaluate different aspects of your condition. This results in a more thorough understanding of your pain's origin and impact and eliminates the one-size-fits-all approach of the more traditional pain management methods. 

For example, if you sustained a sports injury, our physical therapy team can help you regain your strength, your interventional pain specialists can help reduce pain and swelling with a steroid injection, and your nutritional specialists can help you learn how to fuel your body and promote healing properly. This unique approach is 100% tailored to you and your goals as an athlete in a way that a single-disciplinary approach can't replicate. 

Reduced pain

Research has shown that combining various treatments — also referred to as multimodal combination therapy  — often leads to better pain relief and improved functional outcomes. For instance, physical therapy can help improve mobility and strength, while psychological interventions can address the emotional and cognitive aspects of your pain. 

Reduced reliance on medication

Reliance on medication alone can lead to issues such as tolerance, dependence, and side effects. A multidisciplinary approach promotes the use of non-pharmacological treatments, which can reduce the need for high doses of pain medications, including opioids.

Prevent anxiety and depression. 

Chronic pain often goes hand-in-hand with emotional and psychological distress. 

The good news is that multimodal pain treatments can help reduce the anxiety and depression associated with chronic pain.

More education

Multidisciplinary teams like ours can provide comprehensive information about your condition, treatment options, and self-management strategies. 

This empowerment helps you take an active role in your treatment, adhere to your care plans, and make informed decisions about your health. For example, sticking with your dietary recommendations becomes easier when you learn how inflammatory foods can exacerbate certain pain conditions (like osteoarthritis in your hips).

The bottom line is that understanding the nature of your pain and how to manage it can lead to better outcomes and a higher quality of life.

Improved function

A multidisciplinary approach doesn't just mask pain symptoms. A multidisciplinary approach can also help you improve your range of motion and functionality. 

For example, suppose you have knee pain from an acute injury. Physical therapy — part of our multidisciplinary approach — helps improve your range of motion. 

Get started with pain management 

If you have pain—whether from an acute injury or a chronic condition—know that help is just a call or click away. When you arrive for your appointment, our team reviews your symptoms, conducts a physical exam, and reviews any necessary imaging tests. 

Depending on the source of your pain, your multimodal pain management plan may include nutritional counseling, interventional pain management treatments (such as stem cell therapy or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections), pain pumps, physical therapy, lifestyle modifications, and more.

To get started with our multidisciplinary pain management approach, call our Washington, D.C., or Arlington, Virginia, office.  Or, simply click here to use our online form to book your next appointment.