One in six Spaniards suffers chronic pain, which represents 17 percent of the population with pain that lasts or recurs for months or years. Hospiten Estepona has set up a multidisciplinary Pain Unit to treat patients suffering from chronic pain or at risk of becoming chronic. The unit is coordinated by Dr. Alicia Jiménez, an anesthesiologist at the hospital, with the aim of providing fast, effective care.

"With early diagnosis and appropriate follow-up, 75 percent of the patients in the multidisciplinary Pain Unit can find an improvement in their symptoms," according to Dr. Alicia Jiménez.

This unit treats pathologies associated with pain of a certain intensity and with a tendency to become chronic over time. Mainly, they are those ailments related to pain focused in the spine area, joints, headaches, neuropathic pain (which can be of different origin), generalized pain and associated with rheumatologic diseases, as well as a wide range of pain-generating ailments.

The head of the Hospiten Estepona Pain Unit, Dr. Alicia Jimenez, a renowned specialist in Anesthesiology and pain treatment with more than two decades of experience in the medical field, says that the unit aims to "integrate the hospital's multidisciplinary services, including the Emergency Department, Traumatology, Anesthesiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, and its purpose is to create a comprehensive care center for patients with pain".

Among the different professional teams or units of the hospital center, the Traumatology service stands out, where most of these patients consult. On the other hand, patients are also referred from the Emergency Department. "There is no single patient pattern, but there is a greater frequency of people who come to our offices with chronic pain," said Dr. Alicia Jiménez.

Most pain units devote a large part of their activity to treating the lumbar spine, one of the most common pathologies and currently the main reason for consultation at the Hospiten Estepona Pain Unit.

The unit's initial approach

The initial approach should always begin with a good anamnesis, that is, an interview with the patient, asking questions and actively listening to understand the evolution of the pain over time, which is crucial in the initial process. On the other hand, it is of vital importance the complementary tests in order to refine the diagnosis and contemplate the therapeutic possibilities. To do this, the history of the patient's pain must be unraveled with the patient and see what causes may be behind these symptoms. In short, the information obtained during the interview with the patient "becomes one more tool in accompanying the patient in the therapeutic process," said the head of the Pain Unit at Hospiten Estepona.

Usually, a pharmacological, physiotherapeutic and, finally, surgical approach is proposed. Other alternatives and ways of dealing with pain can also be proposed, related to the patient's important emotional side, affecting lifestyle, social relations, sleep habits, etc.

This article is an English translation generated with Al from the original Spanish content. While we review content for clarity, the information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis or treatment.