Pediatric pain management must involve highly specialized and sensitive care for these unique patients. Pain in children is often difficult to assess due to the limited ability of the patient to verbally communicate what he or she is feeling.

Pain Management for Children vs Adults

While an adult may ask for pain relief medication or therapy, a child often does not understand this option and does not ask for help. While an adult may tolerate an aggressive treatment plan, children often do not respond well to this. Adults are often able to continue to function in their daily routines of work and household management, even in social settings, but children are not able to function at this level. Missing school, and not feeling well enough to be with friends can often result in an unhealthy detachment. Their physical pain can lead to anxiety, depression, and even a withdrawal from the family members seeking their well-being. This makes treating pediatric pain even more challenging.

Approach to Pediatric Pain Management

The unique approach to pediatric pain is a specialty at Carolinas Pain Center in North Carolina. An individualized, multidisciplinary approach is applied to each case. This often includes consultation between the pain management specialist, physicians and mental health practitioners to treat the causes of the pain and provide relief for the symptoms. Carolinas Pain Center specializes in treatment of chronic head and back pain as well as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and chronic pain from spinal and orthopedic conditions.

As with the treatment of all painful conditions, the goal of Carolinas Pain Center is to eliminate or manage the painful condition of the child while working to restore normal functioning to his or her daily life. Only the specialized, multidisciplinary approach of treatment of each individual can bring this result. Our specialists listen attentively to the children and their caregivers and this is often one of the most crucial steps. Once a course of treatment is determined, Carolinas Pain Center will help empower children to take control of their pain and start them on the journey to a healthy and active lifestyle.