Finding Pain Relief Often Requires a Team Approach
The human body contains many complex systems that function interdependently to enable us to do the things we want to do. These systems interact with one another on multiple levels, so that activities, deficits, and excesses that affect one system will likely affect others in direct or indirect ways. All of these different systems, including physical, emotional, and mental, work together to make individuals who they are: similar in some things, but altogether unique in many others.
All of these “moving parts” or pieces of the puzzle can, at times, go off kilter, and when this happens, the other parts are affected—often resulting in sickness or pain. Sometimes the correlation or cause and effect are obvious; but other times, it’s harder to figure out what’s causing the discomfort.
When a patient comes to see Dr. Ben Taimoorazy of Beverly Hills Migraine and Pain Management Institute, he considers all the various factors that could be contributing to pain. Not only does he perform a physical exam, he also gets a well-rounded perspective of the patient’s past and current life such as what their job is (spending all day on the telephone cradled between the ear and neck can lead to headaches) or the fact that the patient enjoys playing club hockey and has fallen hard several times (could be a cause or a contributor to headache or back pain).
Even the patient’s emotional and behavioral health comes into play—if not as a cause, then certainly as aspects of life that are affected detrimentally by pain. Dr. Taimoorazy knows that the big picture can be colored by a lot of different things—the body’s multiple systems require a multidisciplinary investigative approach and he takes care to consider as many causes as possible.
There are cases, however, when his expertise hits a limit and he finds it necessary to have other specialists consult with him regarding a patient. The “multidisciplinary approach” means he utilizes the knowledge base outside his own office to solve the mystery of a patient’s pain and ultimately bring relief. “If, for example, a patient’s primary care physician refers a patient to me and during the course of my exam, I can’t find the information I need, or if the information I do find leads me to conclude that the patient needs to see a different type of specialist, I consult with these other doctors so that we can work together to solve the problem.”
Cases where this may happen include situations where the examination of the optic disc requires further evaluation by an ophthalmologist, or results of blood work show signs of an autoimmune disease that needs to be assessed by a rheumatologist, or head and back pain require a neurologist’s input. “The best results for the patient may include a multidisciplinary approach,” says Dr. Taimoorazy.
Other experts include pain psychologists who can teach patients various types of coping skills using biofeedback or other methods for dealing with their pain, or in other instances, ways to handle mental and emotional stress that may be complicating the pain. Physical medicine physicians and physical therapists help with issues such as ergonomics in the workplace, proper ways to do repetitive motions, and strengthening weak muscles to alleviate strain on other body parts.
While the education and expertise of these various professionals can be very helpful in treating the patient, Dr. Taimoorazy finds that it’s extremely important to educate the patient as well. “I give the patient a lot of information about what is wrong, why it has happened, and how it can change over time,” he explains. For example, he has models of the spine that allow him to literally show the patient what a bulging disc looks like and why it feels so painful. The more a patient understands, the more they can affect their own outcome—becoming, in a very real way, an important part of their own pain management team.
For more information about Pain Relief, may contact Dr. Benjamin Taimoorazy at Beverly Hills Migraine and Pain Management Institute. This practice is located at Beverly Hills, CA
