Pain Management as a Specialty

by Jay Johansen

Pain management is a whole new field of medicine. While of course doctors have always tried to relieve their patients' pain, in the last ten to fifteen years pain management has emerged as a specialty all its own. Just as some doctors specialize in treating cancer or heart disease or sports injuries, today there are doctors who specialize in treating pain. There is even an "American Board of Pain Medicine" which certifies doctors as qualified to practice in this field.

Indeed, there are now medical centers specifically devoted to pain management. One such center recently opened here in Ohio, called the Pain Treatment Center of Southwest Ohio.

Dr Lisa Lichota (pictured above), director of the Pain Treatment Center, notes that most people go to a doctor because they are feeling pain. "A physician may 'fix' the health problem", she says, "but the pain can persist. For the patient, the problem still exists because he or she still hurts."

The center uses a multi-disciplinary approach to pain treatment. Their team includes not only "traditional" physicians and surgeons but also dieticians, neurologists, physical therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, and others. Treatment plans can range from medication to high-tech spinal implants.

It is reported that 65 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, mostly headaches and backaches. Some of these are simply inconvenient or annoying, but others can totally incapacitate a person. Sadly, many of these people could be helped with the treatments available today, but simply don't know it, and so suffer needlessly.

While the purpose of this article is not to plug for any one particular pain treatment center, being they were good enough to supply us with the information for this article, we'll at least give their address and phone number:

Pain Treatment Center of Southwest Ohio
Greene Memorial Hospital
1141 N Monroe Dr
Xenia, OH 45385
937-439-4949

Dr Lichota now has an office at:

Dr Lisa Lichota
1550 Yankee Park Pl
Centerville, OH 45458

Most patients are referred by their primary-care physician, but you can participate in their program without a referral.

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Posted 9 Sep 2000. Last update 9 Jun 2005.