Understanding Specialties

There are many types of doctors who offer a variety of treatment and procedural options for conditions that cause pain. So, understanding the differences between doctors is important to managing your pain care.

Physicians who treat pain come from a variety of background specialties, such as anesthesiology, neurosurgery, physiatry, psychiatry, and many others. However, a physician who states that he or she treats pain might have:

A certificate of pain management from their specialty board (for example, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) can provide a certificate of pain management to anesthesiologists)
An additional board certification in pain medicine from the American Board of Pain Medicine (ABPM)
NO specific credentials for treating pain.

Not all physicians are the same when it comes to treating pain. Factors that can affect a physician's level of knowledge and experience in pain care include:

Their credentials
The focus of their medical practice
The length of time that they have spent treating pain in their practice
Their level of involvement in clinical trials, publications, and medical associations for pain

Some physicians, within an interdisciplinary team, provide expertise in many different areas. In fact, many patients in pain should be treated by multiple specialties (including doctors and other providers) for a comprehensive approach to managing pain.

That's why it is important for you to know about a physician's medical practice and clinic setting when choosing a provider to treat your pain. Before you make a decision to seek treatment from a provider, some things you should ask him or her include:

Do you treat pain within an interdisciplinary team of other physician and non-physician specialists with different areas of expertise?
What treatment options are provided at or through the clinic?
Are you focused on treating people in pain or is treating pain only part of your practice?
To read and print a full list of additional Questions to Ask Potential Providers, click here.

Those who specialize in pain will have a medical practice that is mostly dedicated to treating people in pain. For example, you might find that one neurosurgeon treats many neurological disorders and spends only a small amount of time treating people with chronic pain, while another neurosurgeon is board certified in pain medicine and spends most or all of his or her practice time treating people in pain. These are the types of differences you need to understand so you can make informed choices.