Pain Management
At Mercy Medical Group, our Pain Management department’s goal is to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from chronic pain. Our specialists in anesthesiology, physiatry, and psychology combine compassion with leading-edge treatments to relieve pain and reduce suffering.
Meet Our Team
Mercy Medical Group’s pain management team works with each patient to understand their needs and their goals to help find a solution that works best for them. Our team includes an on-staff counselor who specializes in chronic pain and is available to work with patients in clinic on a one-on-one basis as well as in a group setting.
Types of Pain
Pain usually starts when nerves send signals to your brain, telling it you have an injury or illness. There are two major categories of pain.
• Acute pain is a severe or sudden pain that resolves within a certain amount of time.
• Chronic pain is persistent, lasting for months or even longer. Chronic pain itself is considered a health condition.
When you have chronic pain, your brain can continue getting these signals even after the body has healed. Over time, the brain may become so used to getting pain signals, it can't turn them off.
Conditions We Treat
• Back pain neck pain
• Pain in arms or legs from pinched nerve
• Sciatica or radiculopathy
• Pain after back surgery or post-laminectomy syndrome
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Arthritis
• Pain in joints: knees, hips, shoulders
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Sacroiliac dysfunction/pain
• Pain that persists after surgery in knees or hip
• Pain after hernia surgery
Treatments We Offer
Mercy Medical Group’s pain management team serves its patients with a multimodal approach, using a combination of medications, injections, procedures, therapies and counseling in the treatment and management of chronic pain.
Interventional therapies address pain by attempting to interrupt the flow of pain signals along specific nervous system pathways. They include injection therapies, nerve blocks and nerve ablation, neuro stimulation and other cutting-edge minimally-invasive procedures to reduce pain and improve quality of life. Most procedures can be done in the office, take less than 20 minutes to complete, and may provide immediate relief from pain.
There are a variety of medications our physicians employ to treat pain. Anti-inflammatories work where pain is being generated. Muscle relaxants decrease painful muscle tension. Other medications can help to stabilize painful nerves. Patches and creams can be placed on the skin over painful areas, in addition to drugs that help decrease sensitivity to pain.
Radiofrequency ablation uses radiofrequency energy to very selectively destroy pain fibers for arthritic pain causing headaches, neck pain, low back pain and knee pain.
Through neuromodulation, our specialists can individually stimulate nerves for very specific pain (e.g. foot, knee, hip or groin/pelvis), or can stimulate the spinal cord covering large area of pain (e.g. low back and leg pain).
The group setting is ideal to providing psychoeducation, support and skills needed to optimize adjustment to chronic pain and facilitate improved functioning in home, school, job or social settings.
Biofeedback teaches patients to recognize physical body states and gain control over the entire experience of pain. Electromyographic feedback helps patients recognize when muscles are contracted or relaxed. Paired with visual imagery or relaxation skills, this can help patients reeducate muscles to relax instead of guarding against pain.
Expert Perspective
The causes and treatments of chronic pain can be complex issues. That is why we believe it is important to treat the whole patient and address all the ways to ease suffering and increase well-being. Get to know our providers and see what they’re saying to help patients relieve pain and suffering.
Our Locations
Our pain management specialists are now available in three locations:
• Elk Grove – Wymark
• Midtown
• Natomas
• San Juan – Mercy Physicians Plaza
Take the Next Step
If you’re suffering in pain, talk to your primary care doctor for a referral to one of Mercy Medical Group’s pain management specialists. Or call 916.733.5844 to schedule an appointment.