Franklin Pain and Wellness Center

Spinal Cord Stimulation is a minimally invasive procedure that controls chronic pain. A pain specialist will most likely first need to do a trial to understand if the Spinal Cord Stimulator is the best solution to manage your specific pain. During the trial, the pain specialist will place one or more leads in the area along the spinal cord. The placement area will depend on where your specific pain is.

The leads will also be connected to a trial generator. The pain specialist will use the trial generator to test your leads and make sure they are in the right place to treat your pain. You will be asked questions like:

• Do you feel a tingling sensation?
• Where do you feel the tingling?
• Does the tingling cover your pain?

By answering these questions, you will help make sure the leads are positioned well. The pain specialist will then show you how to use the trial generator to adjust the strength of the stimulator so you can experiment with what makes you comfortable. You will then be sent home to carry out your trial period with the Spinal Cord Stimulator.

At the end of your trial period, you and your pain specialist will determine if you should have a permanent system and which system would be appropriate for your pain. The pain specialist will consult and collaborate with your primary care physician and any other specialists you are under care of, to ensure that the best treatment plan is being carried out for you.

To schedule your initial evaluation to see if Spinal Cord Stimulation is a good solution for your chronic pain, please call (508) 507-8818 or e-mail us at staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

Pain expert Margo McCaffrey, MSN,RN, FAAN says "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and exists whenever he says it does." Whatever the cause or the description, pain hurts and has physical and emotional repercussions.  
 
Pain caused by the disease or from the treatment of the disease is common in cancer patients. Approximately 30% - 50% of people with cancer experience pain while undergoing treatment, and 70% - 90% of people with advanced cancer experience pain.
 
Careful, comprehensive assessment of cancer pain is absolutely essential to finding the best treatments to manage the pain. Working with your physician and taking your specific needs into account, our pain specialists at Franklin Pain and Wellness will create a treatment plan that will manage your pain at your comfort level.

Contact us in order to make an appointment. We will do a thorough and accurate diagnosis so that a customized program can be developed that will target your specific pain.

There is a new treatment available for patients who suffer from Cervical, Thoracic or Lumbar Disc Herniations. Endoscopic Disectomy is a minimally invasive spine procedure that relieves pressure caused by scar tissue and abnormal bone. Endoscopic Disectomy can also help conditions such as Bulging Discs, Degenerative Disc Disease, Nerve Root Compression, Radiculitis, Radiculopathy, Scar Tissue and Pinched Nerves.

Endoscopic Disectomy is performed by passing a tube-like instrument to the injured disc, while avoiding cutting the surrounded muscles. A light guided wire device called an endoscope, along with a medical laser, is passed through the tube into the spinal disc. The laser vaporizes the herniation and removes the abnormal bone and scar tissue found in the spinal disc area. Patients are able to return home the day of treatment.

This procedure is preferred among back pain sufferers because it provides relief without the time, cost and recovery period associated with surgery. Sometimes Endoscopic Disectomy can even help those who have had failed back surgery.

Call 508-507-8818 or e-mail The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center today to schedule an evaluation. If Endoscopic Disectomy is not the exact procedure for your pain condition, our specialists will advise the best treatment for your specific pain.

Pain specialists are doctors who treat pain, they specialize in pain medicine. Pain medicine is a medical specialty that focuses on the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of pain.

Pain Specialists are experts at diagnosing the reasons and sources of pain and then treating that specific pain. Anesthesiologists usually specialize in pain management. This makes sense; this is the field that has the most experience managing pain during labor or surgery.

There are different types of pain and most have become treatable through medications, nerve blocks, physical therapy, electrical stimulations, surgery, and psychological support. Although drug dependency is a common worry, at Franklin Pain and Wellness Center we only use non-habit forming treatments and drug recommendations.

Research has led to the development of newer, more effective treatments for people who have pain. Methods and treatments have been developed to minimize or eradicate chronic pain such as lower back; neck; headaches; post herpetic neuralgia (shingles); reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD); maxillofacial pain and other chronic ailments.

Contact the Franklin Pain and Wellness Center for information or to book your consultation.

Minimizing Medication Dependency of Difficult Chronic Pain Patients.

Case of the Month - Spinal Cord Stimulation as an alternative to narcotics.

Cathy T from Attleboro, MA was in pain for five years, which she described to be constant. “I was taking medication every three hours and did not want to be on pain meds anymore” she tells The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center.

Cathy was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and lumbar facet syndrome. Dr. Boris Shwartzman successfully performed Radiofrequency Neurotomy and was able to increase Cathy’s functional level while decreasing her medication dosage. She is able to continue her full time job and her quality of life has significantly improved.

“I would recommend to everyone to go to this pain center because the people there will care about you. I want to thank all of them for taking care of me” praised Cathy.

Neck pain is a common complaint and most is muscle related. Although this type of neck pain is not too serious, it can be tiresome and very uncomfortable. However, neck pain can result from a variety of causes, ranging from overuse injuries and whiplash to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and meningitis.

Sprains or cramps cause muscle tension, which can lead to numbness, tingling or weakness in your arm or hand. Neck muscles can be strained from poor posture while working at your computer or hunching over a work space. Wear-and-tear arthritis is also a common cause of neck pain.

But sometimes neck pain can signify something more serious. Non muscle related neck pain can be caused by damaged disks which can pinch the nerves in the neck area and even cause pain in the shoulders and arms. This can even lead to problems with coordination, balance and motor skills.

The specialists at the Franklin Pain and Wellness Center can minimize and treat chronic neck pain without the use of narcotics. Contact us if you have been dealing with chronic neck pain.

Pain after back surgery is quite common.  Patients may experience pain in the area where the surgery was preformed, or sometimes, pain radiates to other areas as well.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that the back surgery was a failure.  Side effects are common with any invasive procedure, so it’s important for the patient to have their expectations aligned with the possible outcomes.

On the positive side, modern medicine has developed ways to deal with theses side affects.  Seeing a pain specialist has helped many people regain their quality of life.  The goal of a pain specialist at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center is to create an effective treatment plan that will help minimize dependency on narcotics.  The pain specialist can perform a procedure or series of procedures and manage the patient’s medication schedule in such a way that helps the patient relieve pain while taking less medication.

Some quotes from Franklin Pain and Wellness Center Patients exhibit the type of results patients can get when post back surgery pain is relieved.

“I am able to do more.  I am more comfortable and sleep a lot better.”

“I am back to work and have my life back finally”

To find out how a specialist from The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center can help you, please call 508-507-8818 or e-mail us at staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

There are so many causes of pain. Many people feel the pain is untreatable, or the medication required is habit forming, not good for them, or causes side effects. Acute pain such as pain after surgery, recent injury, nerve damage musculoskeletal or an acquired medical illness that persists and evolves into chronic pain would require the involvement of a pain specialist.

The field of anesthesiology has long been known to manage pain associated with surgery or child labor. These specialists have now determined methods and treatments to also minimize chronic pain.

The pain specialists, nurses and anesthesiologists, at Franklin Pain and Wellness Center are specifically trained in pain management and will work with your primary care physician to establish the best course of treatment for you.
If you are living with chronic pain, or have been taking narcotics for chronic pain and are seeking an alternative, contact the Franklin Pain and Wellness Center.

A recent pain patient from Rockland, MA finally received the pain relief he had been looking for. After trying various other treatments and going from doctor to doctor, Duane found the solution to his pain. Duane had a spinal cord stimulator placed in his back, which now gives him control over his pain and keeps his medication dosage at a much lower level.

“Many times, patients use less narcotics or even come off narcotics entirely after placement of the Spinal Cord Stimulator” states Dr. Chan, co-owner of The Franklin Pain Center.

“I have been in pain since an auto accident in 2004. The doctor’s solution who I was seeing prior to coming to the pain center, was medication and physical therapy. I felt that physical therapy and medications would not work due to me having harrington steel rods in my lower back since 1983. I was trying to manage my pain with one Tylenol-3 per day, so my primary doctor recommended the pain clinic. My biggest fear was that it would not help and I would require nerve blocks and radio frequency ablation procedures for the rest of my life. Dr. Chan placed a spinal cord stimulator and now instead of pain running my life, I control the pain. I would recommend this treatment to others in a heartbeat.” -Duane