Sunday, February 20, 2005

Clinic eases pain of patients

Practice specializes in managing various chronic conditions manifested in pain.

By Sheri Hall / The Detroit News

Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

FARMINGTON HILLS -- Each day, some 100 patients flock to Tri-County Pain Consultants' three suburban offices for help in finding relief from medical conditions ranging from arthritis to accident injuries.

Since opening in February 2002, the medical practice has grown tenfold -- a testament to the nationwide explosion in pain management care spurred by a shift in the way medicine views pain.

"Pain in and of itself is a chronic illness like diabetes and high blood pressure, and it needs to be treated in the community setting," said Dr. Dennis Dobritt, president and founder of Tri-County Pain.

Many physicians now accept that untreated pain damages the body, causing complications and longer hospital stays. Yet studies have shown that most pain is not appropriately treated, resulting in needless suffering, costs and wasted workdays.

The American Pain Society reports that pain costs about $100 billion annually in medical expenses and lost work days. Back pain, for example, causes chronic disability for 1 percent of the U.S. population and another 1 percent is temporarily disabled by it. And more than 40 million Americans have arthritis, a number that is expected to swell as baby boomers age.

Membership in the American Academy of Pain Medicine, which represents doctors specializing in pain management, has nearly 1,800 members nationwide -- a 40 percent jump compared with four years ago.

Many medical specialists treat pain, such as neurologists, anesthesiologists, psychologists, neurosurgeons and physical therapists. But many of them have different and sometimes contradictory treatment approaches. Pain specialists suggest it's better for patients with severe or chronic pain to get multifaceted care.

"Pain doesn't just impact your physical self, it impacts your life," said Dr. Carmen Green, a pain specialist at the University of Michigan.

"It affects how you sleep, what you eat, whether you work, how you interact with society. So that's the way we need to treat it."

At comprehensive pain centers, that means physical therapy, consultations with psychologists, sleep aids and prescription drugs.

For many patients with chronic pain, it's this broad range of treatments that offers relief and allows their lives to return to normal.

"In my practice, most people who walk in here feel like patients," Green said. "This is about making them feel like people again. It's really rewarding to see people get their lives back."