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Why You Should See a Family Medicine Doctor for Your Chronic Pain

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that chronic pain afflicts roughly 50 million adults in the United States. If you’re a statistic, one of your best bets to keep chronic pain from wreaking havoc on your mental health and interfering with your overall quality of life is to work with your family medicine doctor.

Read on to learn about the specific measures your family medicine doctor can employ to help you tackle your chronic pain.

Devising a Care Plan for Your Chronic Pain

Chronic pain has various potential causes. It could be caused by arthritis, fibromyalgia (a condition that causes widespread body pain), an untreated musculoskeletal injury, multiple sclerosis, or any other health problem.

Your family doctor can get to the bottom of your chronic pain by reviewing your symptoms, medical history, and current health status as well as ordering the necessary tests (e.g., blood work, diagnostic imaging, etc.).

If your family doctor deems that you need advanced treatment, they will coordinate your care with a specialist, such as a neurologist, pain management specialist, or orthopedic doctor, to determine the most effective intervention for your problem. Depending on the underlying cause, your care team may recommend surgery or ongoing treatment.

Recommending Additional Strategies for Chronic Pain

Your family medicine doctor may recommend any or some of the following strategies to enhance the efficacy of your care plan:

  • Exercise program – Exercise can have a positive impact on both your mood and pain threshold. It is also especially beneficial if your chronic pain is caused by arthritis, as it helps increase your mobility by reducing joint inflammation and stiffness.
  • Relaxation techniques (e.g., breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, etc.) – These have been shown to help with chronic pain by stimulating the production of the body’s natural painkillers (endorphins).
  • Joining support groups – This equips you with emotional support as well as useful information about your specific condition.
  • Smoking cessation program (supervised by your doctor or another healthcare provider) – Studies show that smoking is linked to many health problems that cause chronic pain.
  • Behavior therapy/ professional talk therapy – Your family medicine doctor may recommend either or both of these modalities to help improve your coping strategies.
  • Nutritional recommendations – Your doctor may recommend a diet plan that includes anti-inflammatory foods, which can help with chronic pain.

Treatment for Chronic Pain in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, FL

At Advanced Medical Clinic, our board-certified internist Dr. Ishan Gunawardene and our board-certified family nurse practitioner Shariffa Gunawardene are best known for their commitment to delivering the best possible treatment outcomes for the gamut of conditions—including those that cause chronic pain—affecting people of all ages. We will gladly collaborate with the right specialist to help you live well with or even conquer your pain.

To arrange a consultation with one of our providers, contact us at (561) 434-1935 or request an appointment by filling out this secure form.

The Importance of an Annual Wellness Exam

Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life. It takes conscious effort to achieve and maintain good health, and the effects can last your whole lifetime. Having an annual wellness exam is one of the most important things you can do for your body.

An annual wellness exam:

·       Is vital for the early detection and prevention of diseases

·       Provides time to review current medications and discuss side effects and benefits

·       Gives you an opportunity to work with your doctor to change or adjust bad habits that can lead to poor health and long-term problems

·       Ensures you are current with vaccines

·       Offers the opportunity to measure cholesterol, blood sugar, and other indicators of potential problems through lab tests

Many times, we don’t seek medical help until a small problem has become a large one. Making the right choices for your body can eliminate a lot of pain and help extend your life! Prevention is the best way to avoid sickness. At your annual well exam, your doctor gets a chance to learn about you and your health history, so that you have a baseline in case of illness or injury.

A wellness visit may include:

·       Weight and BMI

·       Blood work and labs

·       Urine analysis

·       Discussion of lab results

·       Blood pressure check

·       Discussion of history and any concerns

·       New prescriptions to address health issues

As a primary care physician, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene takes the time to get to know patients at their wellness exams, and is there throughout any hospital or rehabilitation stay to coordinate care and eliminate miscommunications among providers who don’t know your complete health history.

Advanced Medical Clinic provides comprehensive wellness exams with a doctor who will get to know you and be there when you need him. Call (561) 434-1935 for an appointment in Wellington or Royal Palm Beach, Florida today. We offer same day appointments.

Chronic vs. Acute Pain

Pain, from the perspective of the medical professional, is often divided into two main categories: acute pain, and chronic pain. Acute pain is the type of pain that we feel as the immediate result of an injury (for example, your finger hurts after getting hit by a hammer when you are trying to drive a nail). Chronic pain is a pain that is more lasting or frequent in nature. Chronic pain, for example, might be more along the lines of having a back or joint pain that is either constant or comes and goes on a fairly regular basis. There are many different conditions linked to chronic and acute pain. These include autoimmune disorders, spine and nerve damage, neurological conditions like migraines, broken bones, nerve damage, burns, blunt trauma and lacerations, and much more.

The fact is that even minor pain caused by stubbing a toe, is seldom pleasant. Nor is it meant to be – pain is, after all, your body’s way of signaling you that something is wrong. Nature has hard wired us to feel pain when our body is injured or compromised in some way. The problem is though, that much like an alarm system that keeps blaring and refuses to shut off, your body can continue to send signals when you already know the issue exists. Acute pain is most often treated by treating the underlying cause of the pain. A broken arm for instance, normally begins to decrease in pain after the bone is set and the healing process has begun.

Chronic pain is often difficult to manage, becoming a quality of life issue. The degree of pain may vary from mild to debilitating, and in many cases, it is accompanied by other symptoms such as ongoing fatigue, depression or anxiety, irritability and an inability to concentrate. This is completely understandable. Some recent studies have also shown that chronic pain may actually alter brain chemistry, especially in the area of the brain that controls how emotions are processed.

Chronic pain conditions include:

·       Arthritis

·       Fibromyalgia

·       Cancer

·       Back or spine injuries

·       Neuropathy or other nerve damage

·       Multiple sclerosis

·       AIDS or HIV

·       Osteoarthritis

·       Migraines

When treating chronic pain, doctors may employ a variety of treatments ranging from targeted injections to surgery, physical or occupational therapy, prescription medications, bracing, and other pain management treatments.

At Advanced Medical Clinic, we understand pain. We treat people from all walks of life, and we know how to deal with both acute and chronic pain. If you are concerned about how chronic pain is affecting your quality of life, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene of Advanced Medical Clinic can answer all your questions. To make an appointment with us in Wellington or Royal Palm Beach, request an appointment online or call (561) 434-1935 today.

Why Eating Fresh Fruit Can Lower Your Risk for Diabetes

Eating fresh fruit is one of the great and delicious ways to eat healthy and still pack more flavor into your diet. Not only is fresh fruit a wonderful way to help balance your diet and lose weight, it may help you avoid developing type II diabetes. Medical researchers have known for some time that the risks for developing diabetes are heavily tied to daily lifestyle habits.

Studies, for instance, have consistently shown that a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and heart healthy fats can significantly lower your risk for developing adult onset, or type II diabetes ­– especially when combined with other healthy choices such as walking or other regular exercise.

Healthy Eating Can Lower Your Risk for Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Certain Cancers

Fresh whole fruits may also boost your immune system and lower your risks of both heart disease and even certain cancers. As with any diet, it is important to remember to add a wide variety of natural, healthy food sources rather than simply eating just one or two kinds of fruit. You should also talk to your doctor to create a comprehensive diet and exercise program that works with your body to help you sustain a healthier lifestyle.

Keep in mind that the best diets reduce or eliminate poor food choices such as saturated fats, empty calories, high fructose corn syrup and sugar, adding heart and blood sugar healthy foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, and lean protein sources instead.

Surprisingly, fresh fruits are not the only thing that may help prevent diabetes. Peanut butter has a high fiber content, and monosaturated (good) fats that people enjoy eating. Be sure to carefully note portion sizes though, as it can ratchet up your calories. And even with fresh fruit, while overwhelmingly healthy, too much of a good thing can cause unwanted weight gain.

Fresh fruits should be eaten as whole as possible, removing only what is inedible such as the outer peel or rind. The skins of some fruits like apples also contain additional vitamins and trace minerals. Just be sure to thoroughly wash them to remove any pesticide residue that may have been used in growing them, or look for organic varieties instead.

Be aware that fruit juices or processed fruit may have added sugars, or have stripped away healthy fiber, which can cause a rise in blood sugar levels (fiber slows down absorption and improves blood sugar levels). A diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits, nuts, berries and vegetables is a tasty way to reduce your chances of developing diabetes.

If you are concerned about how your diet is affecting your chances of developing diabetes, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene of Advanced Medical Clinic can answer all of your questions. To make an appointment with us in Wellington or Royal Palm Beach, request an appointment online or call (561) 434-1935 today.

Is Your Chronic Pain a Sign of something Bigger?

Your body does not own a computer. It can’t send you a text message about your foot or tell you in an email that your appendix is in trouble. Your body has only a few ways of signaling that there is a problem; so it relies on symptoms to show distress. One of the biggest signaling symptoms is pain. Chronic pain (pain that lasts for at least 12 weeks or more) is often a symptom of a disease process or injury.

Feeling fatigued, losing or gaining weight, sleeplessness, anxiety, irritability, changes in appetite, and fevers are all signs that your body is experiencing some kind of stress. Sometimes the reasons behind chronic pain are known; and sometimes they are not.

Chronic Pain May be a Symptom of Something Bigger

Pain may be dull or sharp, it may be constant, or it can come and go at different times. The type of pain, its location and severity, along with other symptoms can be clues as to the underlying cause. Your chronic pain may be related to a known injury, for example, or it could be a symptom of something bigger. Either way, it is your body trying to tell you something important and you should most certainly listen.

Many injuries and disorders can cause chronic pain. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, for instance, are known for being painful, even debilitating conditions. The causes of pain can range from minor to severe and include everything from fibromyalgia to ulcers, appendicitis, or even cancer.

Pain can be difficult to describe or even evaluate, because no one else can feel what you are feeling in exactly the same way as you experience it. It is all very subjective and quite personal. There is no single test that can measure and pinpoint pain in every situation. There are, however several different kinds of tests that can aid your doctor in correctly diagnosing the underlying causes of your pain.

Once diagnosed, your physician can help find the most suitable treatment options for your particular problem. When faced with chronic pain, the goal is to understand the cause, implement treatment that helps to alleviate or reduce it and to restore function in order to provide a better quality of life for you, the patient.

Some people are uneasy about tests, or they are used to the pain and try to push through it and ignore it. This is never a good idea. Chronic pain should be checked out, even if only to set your mind at ease. Chronic pain is not likely to go away on its own, and it could be a symptom of something much more serious. If you are concerned about how chronic pain is affecting your quality of life, Dr. Ishan Gunawardene of Advanced Medical Clinic can answer all of your questions. To make an appointment with us in Wellington or Royal Palm Beach, request an appointment online or call (561) 434-1935 today.