PAIN MANAGEMENT

Military and Vets

Pain management for active and retired military members

Our pain practice has provided pain management for active and retired military for decades. As our offices are located near military bases in Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama, we’ve learned the challenges of providing pain treatment under Tricare and the Veterans Administration.

According to the National Institutes on Health, about 63.3% of active-duty military personnel experience pain symptoms, with chronic pain specifically affecting up to 44% of service members. A major study of active-duty soldiers found that 63.3% had at least one diagnosed pain condition, and 55% of those cases reported moderate to severe pain.

Estimates from the RAND Corporation revealed that chronic pain affects roughly up to 44% of active-duty troops — a rate far higher than the general civilian population, which is about 20%. The most frequent categories of pain include musculoskeletal conditions (29.5%), non-traumatic joint disorders (28.1%), and back and neck pain (22.4%)

Understanding the challenge of pain care for active duty military and veterans

We feel it’s a privilege serving those who have served in the various branches of the military protecting our country. Our goal is to help vets to recover from pain symptoms to improve their quality of life and get back to activity.

Pain that comes on immediately with an injury is typically labeled acute pain. But when pain lasts for more than three months it’s categorized as “chronic pain.” Chronic pain can represent more of a challenge than acute pain. That’s because chronic pain can often create anxiety and depression which can intensify pain. Disability can in turn cause financial strain.

The other challenge is that treating chronic pain problems with drugs and pills can create a worse problem long term if a person develops a dependency on drugs, as drugs can in turn damage internal organs and shorten a person’s lifespan.

Consequently, our long term goal of pain management is to find non-drug treatement options to help veterans regain control and improve their daily lives.

Accessing Care Outside the VA: Finding the right pain care physician resource

While many veterans receive care through VA hospitals, some may qualify for treatment with pain doctors outside the military system with Tricare. This can shorten wait time to see the doctor and provide specialized pain management expertise that may not be found within the VA.

Sometimes a spine surgery may be recommended by a surgeon. However, it’s best to make sure you’ve had a second opinion beforehand to find any possible non-surgical treatment options in advance. That’s because even well-intended surgeries can sometimes create more pain problems in the future.

Our pain physician at Comprehensive Pain can provide second opinions for a variety of pain symptoms. Pain treatment alternatives can include new or advanced pain management treatment options like:

• Platelet Rich Plasma
• Prolotherapy
• Spinal Cord Stimulation
• Kyphoplasty
• Vertebroplasty
• Facet Injection/Block
• Radiofrequency Ablation/Denervation
• Discogram/Discography
• Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy
• Intrathecal Pumps
• Coccyx Injections/Ganglion Impar Blocks
• Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Injections
• Sympathetic Nerve Blocks/Injections
• Botulinum Toxin/BOTOX® for Spasticity
• Intercostal Nerve Block
• Lysis of Adhesions
• Cryoablation
• Trigger Point Injection
• Peripheral Nerve Block
• Diagnostic Injections
• Epidural Steroid Injections/Selective Nerve Root Blocks
• Nucleoplasty
• Electrodiagnostic Studies (EMG/NCV)