Integrative Pain Management was born out of a desire to curtail the opioid epidemic and a need for evidence-based methods to help curtail opioid related deaths. Integrative Pain methods are now included in Physician based Continuing Medical Education (CME) training.
The first step in integrated pain management is ruling out biological causes of pain as biotoxin and inflammatory illnesses are common contributors to pain. At MidAtlantic Health, we start by looking for the causes of inflammation including:
- Mast cell activation and histamine excess
- Injuries
- Tick borne illnesses including Lyme Disease and Babesiosis
- Food allergies
- Mold/Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
- Psychosocial triggers.
Once we’ve uncovered the cause, we use a variety of treatments to help pain including:
- HBOT
- Biowave stimulation
- Xavant NeuroStim 460
- Acupuncture
- Neurobiofeedback, Neurofield
- Regenerative medicine treatments
- Physical Therapy.
In our journey to healing we often also recommend evidence-based dietary supplements and/or medications such as IV Ketamine and compounded topical ointments.
We do this in a comprehensive setting where we are able to wean people from opioids, improve VAS pain scores, relieve comorbid insomnia, and work together toward a better quality of life. We have more that 20 years experience in consensus-based guideline use of Ketamine including developing guidelines for evidence-based alternatives in pain management.
Although we can prescribe a Maryland Cannibis Commission card, given the high incidence of cognitive side effects, day to day variability in VAS pain scores, and lack of long-term efficacy and safety in chronic pain management, we recommend other methods first.