HuffPost
By Lillie Rosenthal, DO
Pain is a puzzle to be solved. Pain deserves our attention — our full attention. Pain is not merely a symptom to be suppressed; it is a signal arising from a complex system of integrated networks known as the human body. In order to comprehensively and responsibly understand and treat pain, we need to listen very carefully.
As a pain management physician for more than 25 years, I have thousands of stories of pain emanating from every location in the human body. I treat patients with back pain, joint pain, muscle pain, headache and various other pain syndromes. My goal as a physician is to identify the root cause of pain and recommend a treatment plan to help my patients feel and function optimally. I rarely prescribe medication or recommend a procedure. How is this possible? What can a pain medicine physician offer if she is not prescribing painkillers? The answer is elegantly simple and deeply effective. The practice of excellent patient-centered, hands-on medical care is more potent than a pill or a procedure, and comes without side effects. Pills and procedures are required for some conditions, however certainly not with the frequency prescribed.