Everyone has experienced pain. It could be an outcome of a surgery, a fall, or sometimes just a pain that defies definition. There is an emerging speciality that deals exclusively with pain. And, several Coimbatore hospitals have established pain clinics to do just that.
“Pain Clinics, though not unknown to the western world are certainly new to Coimbatore,” says Dr. Vijay Anand of Ramakrishna Hospital. “When pain continues for more than three months it becomes a disease and is no more just a symptom. That is where we come in” he explains.
“It is a lot more than about popping painkillers,” says Dr. Nagamani Sen who has set up a Pain Clinic at GKNM “From injuries to disease and even chronic depression, anything can cause pain,” she says. Besides the pain associated with a surgery or a broken bone, there are also those that have emotional and behavioural factors mixed up in it. Chronic pain impacts adversely on the patient’s quality of life. Since it may be the result of many things, the treatment is multidimensional too.
Dr. Edmund M. D’Couto, Physiatrist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, describes his tribe of specialists as a ‘rare breed’ that treats the ‘vague’ aches and pains. “But we try to approach it holistically using a combination of drugs and therapy.” This could be a change in lifestyle, an ergonomic modification and counselling. “Our procedures and investigations are different,” he says. There is also a move towards using alternative therapies such as Yoga and Tai Chi to manage pain, adds Dr. Vijay Anand. “Sometimes, we can help postpone surgical intervention if not avoid it altogether.”
Dr. R. Senthil Kumar, Pain Physician and Anaesthesiologist, K.G. Hospital, calls this speciality a big boon. “Pain is a very bad thing. It has driven people to suicide. But there are ways of easing pain in patients, even terminal ones, that allows them to follow a near normal routine. Earlier, the only recourse was keeping them sedated. Not any more.” Dr. Senthil Kumar says pain specialists step in when the medication has not worked and the next step is surgery. “We intervene at that point. Especially in patients with back pain or those who have had an amputation. The phantom limb pain is most difficult to treat. Or the excruciating pain of herpes. It is proven that if pain is managed, the wound of a patient heals faster too.”’
(Reporting by
Pankaja Srinivasan)
