Pain is the number one source of adult disability in the U.S. This wide-reaching problem can range from a brief, unpleasant localization of pain to the longer-lasting diffused discomfort of chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia or cancer. Pain can cause depression, sleep disturbance, fear, anxiety, isolation, and loneliness.
The need for increased pain awareness is very important in the U.S. with 50 million Americans partially or totally disabled by persistent pain. Lower back pain is the most common form of acute pain and the fifth most common cause of physician visits. Annually 1 in 3 Americans suffer from some kind of pain.
Conditions associated with pain include arthritis, headaches, neck and back problems, cancer, neuropathies, complex regional pain syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain disorder, interstitial cystitis, shingles, and soft tissue pain. Standard diagnostic tests are not always accurate at revealing the cause or source of the pain.
The physicians at Great Bend Regional Hospital want to remove the barriers of acceptance regarding different levels of pain and to increase access to pain management that’s appropriate to the level of pain.
Dr. David Gillenwater, Dr. Mark Steffen, Dr. Razafindrabe Bell and Dr. Curt Thompson all offer pain management procedures at the hospital.
For more information about pain management and specific procedures that may be right for you, call Great Bend Regional Hospital at 620-791-6215.