Private pain management service harrogate

Pain management is the utilisation a wide variety of methods and interventions to aim to reduce pain and its negative secondary consequences.

This is important as pain is a potentially a long-term condition and is known to have significant negative effects on all aspects of life; including physical function, psychological wellbeing, relationships, occupational status and general quality of life.

Dr Craig Montgomery is a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at The Duchy Hospital. He has shared some key information about pain management throughout this page.

Pain Medicine specialists are doctors who are specifically trained, qualified and revalidated in Pain Medicine.

Their unique professional and clinical capabilities allows them to offer offer expert assessment and management of all types of acute and chronic pain. They utilise a wide variety of methods and often working closely with other specialist and allied health professionals.

How are Pain Medicine doctors trained?

Most current Pain Medicine specialist doctors are Anaesthetists, and have undertaken a period of specialist training in Pain Medicine whilst completing their anaesthetic training. This currently involves undertaking a year of advanced training in Pain Medicine against a comprehensive curriculum and completing examinations to allow them to become Fellows of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA). This is in addition to becoming Fellows of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA) that they have achieved as part of their CCT in Anaesthesia.

The General Medical Council (GMC) which oversees doctors and medical training in the United Kingdom, has recently approved credentialing of Pain Medicine specialists to identify those doctors who have completed rigorous training in Pain Medicine and continue to meet their expected high standards. This should be implemented soon and will become the bench mark standard for Pain Medicine specialists in the United Kingdom.

Acute pain relates to pain occurring during tissue damage and repair for example during sudden illness, surgery, trauma and burns. The pain typically improves with tissue healing.

Chronic pain is a persistent pain, which continues after healing or is the result of on-going damage and includes spinal pain, post-traumatic pain (e.g. after amputation or surgery), pain involving the central or peripheral nervous system (e.g. post stroke pain, complex regional pain syndrome, diabetic neuropathy, post herpetic neuralgia and sciatica) and pain associated with other chronic diseases such as angina, arthritis, endometriosis, headache and pancreatitis.

Cancer pain encompasses any pain in patients with cancer that is caused by the cancer or associated with the treatment.

A medical consultation will generally cover a number of core areas: 

• History of pain and its effect on function, well-being and quality of life 
• Investigations, treatments and interventions already received 
• Medication history 
• General medical history

Following this, an individualised plan will be made on how to proceed and may include: 

• Advice 
• Medication changes 
• Interventions 
• Investigations 
• Referral to another specialist or centre

This will be explained during the consultation and will be documented in the medical records and a copy of the clinic letter will be sent to the registered GP and patient. 

• Epidural injections to the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine
• Medial branch blocks to the lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine
• Sacroiliac joint injections
• Peripheral nerve blocks
• Joint injections

Please see the profiles below of doctors who have expertise in pain management, or search 'pain management' on our find a treatment page.

• https://fpm.ac.uk/patients/what-pain-medicine-doctor