When you are in pain the only thing you want is pain relief. To help be effective at providing pain relief, we use Pain Mapping.
X-ray, MRI or ultrasound indicates to us where structural problems are present in the region that is examined. Physical examination indicates where functional problems may be. However neither actually tells us clearly which structure is generating pain.
How it Works
Pain Mapping is when we inject local anaesthesia into specific sites, followed by functional testing, so that we can determine which structure is a pain generator.
For example, when a patient presents with a shoulder pain with radiology that shows numerous structural defects in the shoulder region, tendinopathy, bursal thickening and possibly early cartilage damage, Pain Mapping can reveal to doctor, with the patient as his witness, which structure or structures needs treatment.
Who Benefits from it
Dr Simons will generally complete a Pain Mapping session for people presenting with any form of pain.
Tangible Effects
After the Pain Mapping session, we have a clearer idea of how to proceed. The doctor can then discuss which treatment modalities are most likely to produce a good clinical outcome.