September is Pain Awareness Month

The American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA) established the first Pain Awareness Month in September 2001 in order to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding information on chronic pain and access to chronic pain treatment.

Raising Awareness

Valley Medical and Wellness understands that Chronic pain can interfere with every aspect of our lives - such as one's self-worth, physical health, jobs, relationships with friends and family, finances, and mental health. The ACPA states that "key to raising awareness is to get involved". You can help raise awareness by creating a dialogue with friends, family, and your heathcare provider about chronic pain and the barriers preventing some patients from accessing care (i.e. restrictive insurance policies, difficulty with transportation and mobility, past history of substance dependence, and more). 

Removing Barriers To Care

At any of the four Valley Medical and Wellness locations in Burnsville, Minneapolis, Woodbury, and Rochester, Minnesota we strive to improve the quality of life of those suffering from chronic pain through a comprehensive approach focusing on overall wellness along with progressive and knowledgeable medical treatments. We work with patients to help them navigate their insurance policies, obtain medical transportation, and find an effective pain management care plan despite their past.

Our pain management experts help patients identify the source of pain and develop appropriate, individualized, multimodal treatment plans to help patients improve their health and comfort, so they can return to being their best selves.

Pain management strategies are personalized to each patient and often incorporate physical and interventional pain therapies. The pain management experts at Valley Medical and Wellness treat a wide array of pain conditions including, but not limited to:

• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
• Arthritis (Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis)
• Headaches and Migraines 
• Back Pain and Neck Pain
• Joint Pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Nerve Pain and Neuropathy
• Degenerative Disc and Joint Disease
• Bulging Disc & Herniated Disc
• Cancer Pain
• Chronic Lyme Disease
• Other Chronic Diseases (Ehlers Danlos, Interstitial Cystitis, Endometriosis)
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Sports Injury or Work Injury
• Motor Vehicle Accident Injury

Some of the interventional services we offer include, but are not limited to:

• Bursa Injections
• Botox Injections 
• Large and Small Joint Injections
• Occipital Nerve Blocks
• Osteopathic Manipulation 
• PRP Injections
• Sacroiliac Joint Injections
• Suprascapular Nerve Blocks
• Trigger Point Injections
• Viscosupplementation (Hyaluronic Acid - e.g. Euflexxa, Synvisc, Durolane)

Author

Kate Cummings Kate graduated from Winona State University in 2016 with a BS in Cell & Molecular Biology. She has been with Valley Medical and Wellness (VMW) since 2017. She began her tenure with VMW as a Medical Assistant assisting physicians with procedures and intake of chronic pain and addiction patients. She was able to transfer her talents to clinic administration in her role as a Patient Care Coordinator in 2019 and then in 2020 as the Patient Scheduler Supervisor where she works closely with clinical operations, management and support, as well as assisting in the operation of our Covid-19 testing sites and various clinical project management duties. Kate has plans to become a Physician Assistant, and in her free time enjoys camping, hiking, gardening, reading, and spending time with friends, family, and her Australian Sheppard, Luna.