Pain management (also called pain medicine) is the discipline concerned with the relief of pain.
Pain management generally benefits from a multidisciplinary approach that includes pharmacologic measures (analgesics such as narcotics or NSAIDs and pain modifiers such as tricyclic antidepressants or anticonvulsants), non-pharmacologic measures (such as interventional procedures, physical therapy and physical exercise, application of ice and/or heat), and psychological measures (such as biofeedback and cognitive therapy). Interventional procedures - typically used for chronic back pain - include: epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, neurolytic blocks, Spinal Cord Stimulators and intrathecal drug delivery system implants.
Pain management practitioners come from all fields of medicine. They may be general physicians, anaesthetists, neurologists, or psychiatrists. Some practitioners focus more on the use of pain medication to manage pain, while others are proficient in the interventional management of pain.
