Accurate Clinic
The ONLY Fully Integrative
Pain Management Program
in the
New Orleans area
Located only 15-20 minutes from downtown New Orleans, Accurate Clinic offers a full range of non-invasive approaches to managing chronic pain. In addition to medication management, we offer physical therapy, personal training, nutritional guidance and psychological training. Our emphasis on patient education is unparalleled in the New Orleans area.
Accurate Clinic – 15 minutes from downtown New Orleans
About Accurate Clinic:
We engage a Bio-Pscyho-Social model of pain management, meaning that our approach to managing pain includes not only a biological approach with the use of medications and supplements, but also addresses the psychological side of pain in which a person is taught methods of using their mind to improve their experience of pain and enhance coping skill relative to living with chronic pain. Included in our pain management programs are training in cognitive behavior therapy, meditation, yoga and self-hypnosis. We also engage the social side of pain by working with our patient and their family or significant others, when indicated, to facilitate improved engagement in activities and reduce functional impairment.
Opiate Pain Management
Our opioid chronic pain management program is a multi-disciplinary, integrative approach to managing chronic pain that includes the use of opioid analgesics when indicated by severe pain otherwise inadequately controlled by non-opioid medications and other alternative, conservative treatment modalities. Every effort is made to minimize reliance on opioids through the supplementary use of alternative modalities to reduce pain.
Non-Opiate Pain Management
Prior to the use of opioids, or when the use of opioids is unnecessary or not desired, we offer many medications, nutriceuticals, herbal and nutritional supplements than can be quite effective for pain.
Included in our management options for treating pain are
Neuromodulators
“Neuromodulator” medications are those that act directly or indirectly on nerves to reduce nerve pain such as sciatica, neuropathy or other nerve pain, generally perceived as burning, electric, tingling or sharp pain. Examples of neuromodulators include gabapentin (Neurontin), pregabalin (Lyrica), topiramate (Topamax), milnacaprin (Savella), duloxetine (Cymbalta), venlafaxine (Effexor) and others. These medications are usually tolerated well, especially when initially prescribed at low doses followed by slowly increasing the dose as tolerated. Because these medications reduce pain by different mechanisms than opioids, they can be very successful in reducing pain even when opioids have previously been ineffective.
Topical Medications
Topical medications, or those applied directly to the skin overlying the source of pain, include both commercial brand medications as well as unique blends formulated by our physician and provided by special “compounding” pharmacies. Topical medications offer the advantage of improved safety due to less systemic exposure and in many cases improved pain benefit due to enhanced access to the painful tissue. Topical medications can be very effective at safely reducing neck, back and joint pains with minimal likelihood of side effects and are frequently prescribed as a part of the pain control regimen when appropriate.
Complementary & Alternative Medicine
Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatment options are extraordinarily helpful in preventing and reducing many painful conditions and no pain management regimen is complete without considering their use. In our pain management programs we place great emphasis on the use of nutriceuticals and natural supplements with evidence-based effectiveness in reducing the pain associated with such conditions as chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and chronic neck and back pain.
Physical Therapy
Evaluation by our physical therapist is included as part of our pain management programs. Patients are assessed by our licensed physical therapist with the goal of identifying how a person’s chronic pain conditions have affected their strength, range of motion and balance in order to develop an individualized home exercise program to improve whatever problems are identified. Included also is assistance in the proper and most beneficial use of canes, braces and other orthotic devices. Our therapist is also available to assist patients in determining effective sleeping positions, pillow placement and mattresses to optimize sleep.
Personal Training
Our certified personal trainer provides instruction in safe and effective aerobic and resistance exercise as part of a complete exercise program directed at reducing pain and preventing further injury. We also offer genetic testing to help identify an individualized exercise program genetically based to provide the most efficient exercise program for each patient.
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Meditation, Mindful Exercises and Medical Hypnosis
At Accurate Clinic we recognize that “the mind is a powerful thing.” The truth is, when properly trained, patients can harness a great deal of benefit in living with chronic pain by using their mind to apply simply-taught behaviors, including meditation and other “mindful exercises,” simple mind-based activities that allow a person to focus their minds in ways that allow for improved coping with pain and reduced negative impact on quality of life.
Related to meditation and mindful exercises is medical hypnosis, in which a person teams with our hypnotist in guided sessions that can facilitate changes in pain perception and pain coping skills and improved quality of life. After only a few individual sessions with our hypnotist, a patient can acquire the skills needed to successfully perform their own self-guided, self-hypnosis sessions. Contrary to common misconceptions, the participant does not ever lose control of their mind or their behavior and everyone can benefit from medical hypnosis.
CBT and Counseling
Treating pain is more than just providing medications and physical modalities of management. We believe that it is equally if not more important to address the psyche as a means of reducing pain and improving pain tolerance.
A particularly effective tool for managing pain is to incorporate Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), a collection of techniques and education directed at improving a patient’s skills and ability to adapt to living with chronic pain and improving sleep. CBT also aids in improving communication skill for interacting with both the medical community and family. CBT training is provided in individual and group sessions for those interested or in need of help coping with a life of chronic pain. In addition, a free computer-based CBT education program is provided.
Anxiety and depression are significant and frequent complications of chronic pain and must be addressed for successful pain management. Our licensed counselor is experienced in the problems faced by chronic pain patients and is skilled at providing counseling to assist them. Individual counseling is provided for those patients who need help with anxiety or depression.
To download documents for initial Pain Assessment Visit at Accurate Clinic, click here.
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