First Posted: 2/17/2015

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, the number of Americans affected by pain is more than the total affected by diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined. Pain is classified into acute and chronic, based on the duration of symptoms.

Acute pain is temporary and usually arises in response to a specific body injury or the sudden onset of an illness. This pain often resolves quickly once the underlying injury is addressed.

Chronic pain is persistent and lasts for three months or longer, and is often challenging to treat. Unrelenting chronic pain may significantly compromise every aspect of an individual’s life — such as physical activity, level of functioning, emotional stability, interpersonal relationships, mood, and sleep. Because of the complex nature of chronic pain, treating it with just one treatment modality is often not as effective as multimodal treatments.

I, Dr. Thomas Florian, and the staff at the Southeastern Spine and Pain use proven and advanced techniques in diagnosing and formulating personalized treatment plans for specific acute and chronic pain. We incorporate a multidisciplinary treatment approach combining knowledge and skills of several health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and physical and occupational therapists, to reach the desired treatment goal of meaningful pain reduction and improved functioning. We work in collaboration with our patient, primary care physician and other specialty physicians to focus on our patients’ specific needs and to develop a treatment plan.

Some of the conditions we treat include: spine pain (neck, middle and lower back); herniated discs (disc bulge); spinal stenosis; post-laminectomy pain syndrome (persistent pain after back surgery); persistent pain after inguinal hernia repair; head, neck and whiplash pain; postherpetic neuralgia (shingles pain); persistent pain after surgery; myofascial pain; complex regional pain syndrome (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy; RSD); muscle and joint pain (e.g., hip & knee); chest wall pain; shoulder and arm pain; phantom limb pain (pain after an amputated limb); arthritis (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis); peripheral nerve pain; nerve root damage pain and arachnoiditis; multiple sclerosis pain; work-related injuries; central post-stroke pain (pain after a stroke); cancer pain; spasticity; and diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Our pain clinic within Southeastern Health Park’s new facilityat 4901 Dawn Drive, Lumberton, is fully equipped to provide our patients with high quality services. We utilize visual guidance such as fluoroscopy (X-ray) and ultrasound to perform our interventional pain management procedures. Image-guidance has been shown to improve accuracy and clinical outcomes for specific pain conditions.

We utilize our on-site neurophysiology lab to investigate certain types of neuropathic pain in conjunction with other imaging studies. We also work with outpatient rehabilitation program as a part of multidisciplinary approach to restore patients to the highest possible level of mobility and function.

Hospital inpatient services may be utilized — such as a monitored bed uni t— as a standard of care for people who are receiving a trial of intrathecal (spinal) drugs to alleviate persistent pain unresponsive to conservative treatments for a select patient population.

Some treatments we offer include: joint injections; under image-guidance (ultrasound and X-ray); epidural steroid injection (cervical, thoracic and lumbar); medial branch blocks for facet joint pain (localized neck and back pain due to spine arthritis); radiofrequency (rhizotomy) for localized neck and back pain due to arthritis; diagnostic lumbar discography; sympathetic and peripheral nerve blocks; implantable devices; and advanced medication management in a safe and effective way. We also offer development of rehabilitation programs which may include physical and occupational therapy and/or psychological counseling.

For information or to schedule an appointment, call 910-671-9298.