What is Pain Management?
Pain management is a branch of medicine employing an interdisciplinary approach for easing suffering and improving the quality of life of those living with pain.
It is also called pain medicine or algiatry. The typical pain management team includes medical practitioners, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists. The team may also include other mental-health specialists and massage therapists.
Today, a tremendous gap exists in the clinical management of direct jaw trauma.
Pain Management During Underlying Trauma or Pathology
Pain sometimes resolves promptly once the underlying trauma or pathology has healed, and is treated by one practitioner, with drugs such as analgesics and (occasionally) anxiolytics. Effective management of chronic (long-term) pain, however, frequently requires the coordinated efforts of the management team. Medicine treats injury and pathology to support and speed healing, and treats distressing symptoms such as pain to relieve suffering during treatment and healing. When a painful injury or pathology is resistant to treatment and persists when pain persists after the injury or pathology has healed, and when medical science cannot identify the cause of pain, the task of medicine is to relieve suffering. Treatment approaches to chronic pain include pharmacological measures, such as analgesics, tricyclic antidepressants and anticonvulsants, interventional procedures, physical therapy, physical exercise, application of ice and/or heat, and psychological measures, such as biofeedback and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Jaw Pain Management
TMJ arthroscopy is sometimes used in the diagnosis of a TMJ disorder that requires jaw pain management. During TMJ arthroscopy, your doctor or orofacial pain specialist may insert a small thin tube (cannula) into the joint space, and a small camera (arthroscope) is then inserted to view the area and to help determine a diagnosis. Be sure to seek help early for the best outcome.
Early detection and Clinical Management of Direct Jaw Trauma will likely avoid more serious and painful issues.
Early detection and Clinical Management of Direct Jaw Trauma will likely avoid more serious and painful issues.
Professional pain management is more complex because of common patients’ misbeliefs about temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The lack of agreed upon basic information among dentists and other organization about TMD and the dissemination of mistaken and outdated concepts may delay the diagnosis, hinder the pain treatment, and consequently increase the risk of worsening a patient’s injured jaw condition. Education is key to overcome TMD misbeliefs and its associated jaw pain management protocols.