What to Expect | Pain Medicine | UC Davis Health

Effective pain management involves not only treating the symptom of pain but also the overall well-being of the patient. In our approach to pain management, we do more than simply mask the underlying condition; rather, our focus is on improving quality of life by means of a multifaceted approach:

• Comprehensive care: Pain often involves multiple systems and factors. In our multidisciplinary approach, we consider all aspects of a patient’s pain, including physical symptoms, lifestyle factors, functional limitations and emotional impacts. We further examine the roles of contextual variables in the experience of pain, response to treatment and access to care.
• Prevention: Early and effective intervention can prevent short-term acute pain from becoming chronic (persisting a long time), and doing so can help reduce long-term health complications.
• Management: When working with chronic pain conditions, we seek to manage it in ways that enable patients to engage more fully in daily activities and improve their physical health, emotional well-being and overall quality of life.

As a patient in the UC Davis Pain Management Clinic, you can expect a thorough evaluation process that may include consultations with specialists from other disciplines such as behavioral health, physical therapy, or pharmacy). Treatment plans will typically incorporate the recommendations from all of your consultations in a comprehensive approach that is tailored to your individual needs.

Our goal is to work collaboratively with you to achieve the best possible outcomes, focusing on reducing pain and discomfort, restoring or expanding function, and improving your overall vitality and quality of life.