Pain of unknown origin

Zeljko Kojadinovic, MD- Neurosurgeon and Pain Specialist

Pain of unknown origin

Zeljko Kojadinovic, MD- Neurosurgeon and Pain Specialist

We often have the opportunity to consult with and treat patients with various pain syndromes who have previously received an insufficiently precise diagnosis and have been declared incurable or have even been accused of imagining their own pain. In most cases, it was a question of not establishing an adequate diagnosis. Precise pain diagnosis involves first determining which anatomical structure (specific joint, muscle, tendon, nerve, etc.) is the source of pain. After that, the question is which pathological process is taking place in it, in order to treat it. This can be achieved only by getting all relevant information about patients’ pain and all other symptoms. Only experts know what information is relevant and how to interpret it. Over 50% of the sources of pain are not detected by any recordings. Therefore, the most common mistake is to persistently look for the cause of pain on repeated MRI scans, X-rays or CT scans. It either cannot found on them, or some changes are interpreted wrongly as the source of the pain. For each of the regions, which are described on this web site, there are 10-20-30 possible sources of pain. Due to the complexity of the clinical picture and the type of pain, it is often only by excluding possible sources of pain one by one, that we can determine which structure the pain really starts from (which particular nerve, muscle, joint, ligament, etc. is the source of pain). Only then can we treat it effectively.

After determining the real cause of the postoperative pain, an individual combination and dosages of medication can be prescribed. This combination of medication is always individual and should be adjusted through regular contact with the patient over the first 6 weeks of treatment. At the beginning of this period the pain should be significantly reduced or completely resolved. This should continue throughout the 6 weeks in order to achieve long-lasting results. To ensure this, the doctor must be available to the patient at any time during this period so that he can easily contact him if the pain increases. With this approach, it is possible to achieve an excellent result even with long-term persistent pain in over 80% of cases.

By our approach, we can do this and tailor the combination of modern medications specific just for you. Contact us for a consultation.

Sometimes minimally invasive pain diagnostic procedures are indicated to make a correct diagnosis about the real source of the pain. During this process, diagnostics and treatment of the source of pain move in parallel.