Services
The Multidisciplinary Pain Center at UW Medical Center provides complete evaluation, consultation, and, when appropriate, treatment for a variety of chronic pain problems and syndromes. Treatment goals focus on the reduction of disability and pain so that individuals can return to an optimal level of function in both their work and personal lives.
Types of Pain
We evaluate and treat four main types of pain.
- Chronic pain associated with an injury or surgery.
A type of pain that continues long after the body is expected to heal. This type of pain rarely responds to traditional medical treatments and requires intensive multidisciplinary therapy.
- Pain associated with illness such as arthritis or diabetes.
The underlying disease, as well as the individual's pain problem, must be treated. Medical, psychological and interventional options are considered.
- Pain associated with nerve or spinal cord injury.
In treating these challenging pain syndromes, we offer a wide variety of medical, psychological and surgical strategies.
- Pain caused by syndromes such as fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS/RSD), headaches, and myofascial pain
Pain Services
- Medical Consultation: Evaluation with one of the physicians, providing opinions and guidance in patient management, and when appropriate, the physician provides time-limited follow-up care to initiate and/or optimize new therapies.
- Psychology Consultation: To either explore the role of behavioral factors in pain or to provide and teach non-medication means of pain management.
- Interventional Pain Services: Procedures may be done to diagnose or treat a specific pain problem. A consultation occurs first to determine if this is an appropriate treatment.
- Myofascial Pain Program: A multidisciplinary program designed to assess persons with regionally localized pain and to provide treatment directed toward their myofascial (muscular) pain. It may include injection therapy, physical therapy, education, and stress management techniques.
- Headache Program: The multidisciplinary approach includes an evaluation by a physician and clinical psychologist and may involve self-management techniques, medication, stress management training, physical therapy for headaches, and may include procedural interventions.
- Comprehensive Pain Evaluation: Evaluations by a physician, a clinical psychologist, and, when appropriate, a rehabilitation counselor who provide an integrated team approach towards defining the appropriate health services for each patient.