Visit Information
What to expect when you visit the Spine Centre
Our Aim at Spine Centre
Our aim is to provide a comprehensive and quality service to ensure that the cause of your pain and discomfort is accurately determined. This accurate diagnosis will then result in the adoption of an appropriate treatment plan to restore function and quality of life.
To ensure your best possible care, the Spine Centre team has developed a patient management methodology, which has proven to be very effective over the years.
As this methodology may very well differ from that which you have experienced when consulting other health care providers, we would like to inform you of what to expect when you visit Spine Centre.
Before Your Visit
01.
Once you have made an appointment you will be asked to share your demographic details with a staff member for record purposes. To save time on the day of your consultation, this process can also be done securely via the website.
02.
You will be asked to complete 4 questionnaires relating to your neck or back problem, possible physical disability as well as pain experienced. These responses will allow your doctor to better understand the severity of your problem, which will, in turn, inform decision-making regarding your treatment. These questionnaires can be completed online, or on the day of your consultation.
03.
An appointment, at a time convenient to you, will then be scheduled. In case of an emergency we request that your general practitioner phone the practice to discuss the details with one of our doctors. In such a case the appointment will be expedited and, in the vast majority of cases, the patient will be assessed the same day.
04.
Please bring along a list of chronic medication when you first visit the practice.
05.
During Your Visit
01.
On the day of your consultation you will meet one of our doctors at Spine Centre who will take a thorough history and do a physical examination.
02.
In the vast majority of cases special imaging studies and/or other investigations will be required. These will consequently be ordered and scheduled.
03.
Test results are generally not available the same day and a follow-up appointment will thus be scheduled within the same week at the patient’s convenience.
04.
After Your Visit
01.
Follow-up will be determined according to the pathology and specific treatment needed. In general, patients treated without an operation will be discharged at 3 months post consultation if they are doing well. Patients treated with surgery are seen regularly for a period of one year to ensure a successful outcome.
02.
In the minority of cases surgery is needed to correct the pathology and relieve pain. These patients enter a rigorous pre-operative planning program which includes:
- Consultation with a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and a dietician.
- If needed, patients will be assessed by a physician to ensure that he/she is fit for an operation.
- During the informed consent process the patient will be counseled at length to ensure that all implications and risks are understood.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQ
Is the pain all in my head?
As you will see from the videos, all pain is experienced in the brain. If you did not have a brain, you would not feel any pain. This does not mean that your experience is not valid or that you are simply making it up. Your pain is real!
Chronic pain, irrespective of the site of your pain, is usually a complex cascade of pathology ranging from the periphery to the spinal cord and all the way to the brain itself.
Is surgery ever indicated in chronic pain?
It is very important to fully understand a patient’s chronic pain problem before opting for surgery. Certain features, such as central sensitisation need to be screened for and managed before surgery should be considered (unless if it is an emergency). Given that chronic pain is complex, surgery may often be indicated but should ideally form part of a holistic pain management strategy.
Why does surgery often fail to alleviate pain?
This is a complex answer because each case is unique. Often-times it is not that the surgery was performed incorrectly or not for a good indication, but it may be that the person being operated on has central drivers of their pain (central sensitisation). This is explained in the videos. When invasive surgery is performed on someone with central type pain (irrespective of their peripheral pathology), surgery often fails to provide satisfactory outcomes or may even worsen the pain.
Would I have to be on medication forever if I suffer from chronic pain?
Although not always the case, the plan in managing chronic pain conditions is always to slowly wean patients off chronic medications whilst instituting certain conservative, non-pharmacological strategies to manage their pain. Certain medications may be required long-term to manage certain chronic pain conditions, but the aim is never to be on analgesics long term.
Do pain procedures always work?
Given that chronic pain is complex, there are no guarantees that interventional pain procedures will always work to alleviate pain. Pain procedures should usually be performed within the ambit of a comprehensive pain management strategy to ensure optimal results. Pain procedures are often also utilised as a diagnostic tool to isolate peripheral drivers of your pain, i.e. to make an accurate diagnosis.
How long do pain procedures work for?
There are no guarantees for how long a pain procedure will work given the complexity of pain. It is generally considered that a pain procedure has been successful if it provides satisfactory pain alleviation for more than 6 months to 1 year. Some people experience good results for years, whilst others only experience pain relief for a few days. To receive full value for a pain procedure, a rehabilitation program under the supervision of a physiotherapist or biokineticist is usually advised.