INTERDISCIPLINARY CARE

 

Pacific Pain Treatment Center (PPTC) is an interdisciplinary pain center for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain conditions. Our interdisciplinary team, led by Dr. Elliot Krames, Medical Director, recommends and provides comprehensive treatment plans for challenging pain conditions. During 35 years experience practicing and teaching pain medicine, Dr. Krames implemeted the "five pillars" approach to pain treatment.

The Five Pillar Approach: Because pain is a combination of biological, psychological, and social influences, no one practitioner of pain medicine can be expected to have all of the expertise of the "five pillars”. The ideal practice of pain medicine should include the expertise of differing practitioners whose combined experience leads to an improved quality of life. The PPTC team actively applies these principles for optimal outcomes.


The "five pillars" of pain medicine treatments are:

1. PHARMACOLOGICAL PAIN MANAGEMENT: Pain can cause depression, sleep disturbances, muscle spasms and other unpleasant symptoms. When necessary, we may selectively prescribe various medications for these problems. Nutritional suppliments are also considered in the overall plan for improved health and pain control.

2. INTERVENTIONAL PAIN MANAGEMENT: Interventional pain managment is the skilled application of medical treatment by a certified pain specialist to reduce neurologically based pain. The origin may be biomechanical, but "interventional pain treatment" can be a specific and more moderate way of treating nerve pain before seeking larger orthopedically based procedures. PPTC offers many types of procedures done safely under the guidance of Xray in an outpatient setting. These procedures range from simple nerve blocks that reduce the abberrant signal of pain to neuromodulation therapies to help with pain control on an active and continous basis. Dr. Krames has done more than 20,000 of these combined pain managment procedures throughout his career, and continues to mentor physicians on the appropriate selection of interventional treatment for all types of pain conditions.

3. RESTORATION OF FUNCTION: Loss of functional ability is often coupled with persistent pain. Patients are unsure about how to “get back to” walking, exercise and sports, the physical requirements of work, or even sleeping comfortably in the presence of their pain. Maximal movement restoration and comfort is the primary concern of our physical therapy. We use many educational classes, tools and techniques, taught by highly skilled “hands on” therapists at Healthwell’s Physical Therapy Group. Director,

Mindy Marantz, PT, MS participates in our weekly team meetings lending 25 years of integrative care to the team, helping to find what works, restoring function optimally for each situation. Because the team is in close communication, our response to patient concerns are handled quickly and professionally.
  • Feldenkrais Movement Re-education™
  • Pilates
  • Massage
  • Manual Therapy
  • Personal stretch and strengthening programs
  • Cardiovascular reconditioning

4. EMOTIONAL RESTORATION: Chronic pain can lead to feeling emotionally depleted. Because relationships with family or work often become strained, this could lead to feelings of depression, anxiety and isolation. Treating pain without treating one’s altered emotions is like playing baseball with one arm. We believe that treating the whole person is essential and that this approach results in better outcomes and a better understanding of the condition. The clinical psychologist on PPTC’s team is Harvey Merriouns, Ph.D, who helps patients find tools of self soothing and strategies to limit both the physical and mental triggers that maintain painful memories in the brain.

5.COMPLIMENTARY PAIN MANAGEMENT: There are many alternate or complementary therapies offered at PPTC that can assist patients to better manage painful conditions:

Mikel Davenport, Licensed acupuncturist and herbologist, has been trained in the healing powers of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has extensively studied acupressure, acupuncture, and Chinese herbology. He specializes in orthopedic and musculo-skeletal acupuncture. and brings an integrated approach that utilizes nutritional counseling, Qui gong, and mediation/relaxation. Mikel’s love of the ocean and surfing helps him find solutions for his patients so they can restore passion and pleasure in their lives.

  • Acupuncture
  • Acupressure
  • Chiropractic
  • Meditation/relaxation
  • Nutrition
  • Qui-gong

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