When a patient is referred to the Pain Management Center, an assessment will be made after an analysis of past and present treatments, surgeries, or illnesses. A typical program designed by the pain specialists may include biofeedback, medication, physical or occupational therapy, and if needed, more intense procedures such as nerve blocks or trigger point injections.

The Pain Management Center will utilize a multidisciplinary approach in establishing a protocol for patients that includes medical, psychological, physical, and pharmacological treat­ments. Psychology plays one of the most critical roles in the treatment of chronic pain.

Patients experiencing chronic pain will soon find that relief is available through a new Pain Management Center at St. Ann’s Medical Center, expected to open later this year. The new Pain Center, to be housed within a new Community Health and Wellness Center at St. Ann’s, will offer patients the opportunity to allevi­ate themselves of unresolved, persist­ent pain that has lasted for more than three months.