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We all know what pain is, don’t we? Most of the time pain is fleeting, something we can deal with. It may be hard to believe, but acute pain such as this is a good thing, clinically speaking. Acute pain is a message from our body telling us something is wrong. For example, without that signal we wouldn’t know to snatch our hand away from a hot flame, the result of which would be a much more severe injury. The human body is rife with vulnerable targets – nerves, bones, muscles and joints to name a few – where pain tells us something is wrong and needs attention. Chronic pain is different. Chronic pain is something that persists longer than the time it takes for natural healing associated with a particular type of injury or disease process. Chronic pain is something that doesn’t go away, often requiring intervention of some sort. Anything from sleeping on a bad mattress to stomach ulcers can cause chronic pain. Another dimension of chronic pain is the fact that, though it may begin with a physical injury or illness, it can develop a psychological dimension once the physical problem is cured or heals. Providers trained in pain management come from all fields of medicine. Most often, pain fellowship trained practitioners are anesthetists or anesthesiologists, neurologists, physiatrists or psychiatrists. Some pain management specialists focus on medicinal management of the patient, while others focus on interventional management, (especially in the area of chronic back pain), using procedures such as epidural steroid injections, facet joint injections, and other procedures to provide relief for the patient. Box Butte General Hospital is blessed with two anesthetist pain management specialists who treat both acute and chronic pain:  Chuck Frisch, BS, MS, CRNA, FAAPM, CHDavid Luedke, MS, CRNAAppointments can be made through referrals from your primary care provider. Last updated 7/23/08 |
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| 2101 Box Butte Ave., Alliance, Nebraska, 69301, (308) 762-6660 | ||||||||||
