Pain management specialists are physicians, but they must also be part detective to successfully treat the patients who come to them for relief. Too often, patients are given ineffective treatment for their condition. Many continue to live with the pain of these results for years because they fear more complications. For this reason, a team approach which brings together the expertise of multiple disciplines can help ensure a comprehensive diagnosis is made and proper treatment is given early.

One of the primary goals in treating pain is to attain an accurate diagnosis. It was for this reason that Dr. Dharam Mann, founder and Medical Director of Garden State Pain and Radiology Center, made the decision to expand his practice to include on-site diagnostic imaging. To further this goal, he invited his wife, Dr. Sunita Mann, a sub-specialty certified Neuroradiologist to join the practice. With her advanced training from Mt. Sinai Medical Center, she brings her expertise in both diagnosis and treatment of back and joint pain. In addition to Fluoroscopy guided pain management procedures, the multi-specialty practice now offers state-of-the art imaging including Computed Radiography (X-ray), Bone Densitometry (DEXA), CT, and MRI. Garden State Pain and Radiology Center is now equipped with technologies and specialists to help determine what components are causing the pain.

Advanced Diagnostics

In addition to the traditional tests used to diagnose pain conditions including X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electromyography (EMG), and nerve conduction studies, Garden State Pain and Radiology Center offers additional tests that are directed toward eliminating or reducing pain as an endpoint.

For example, while EMG and nerve conduction studies might tell health care providers what is wrong with a particular nerve or nerves, blocking these structures with a local anesthetic can help the health care provider distinguish between pain that might be arising within a nerve or nerves, or from the structures that they serve. Such tests might involve the sequential blocking of a peripheral nerve, the nerve root from which it arises, or a structure within the spinal canal, for example.

Often, because there is an interplay between different types of nerves — such as sympathetic, motor, and sensory fibers — some of the injection techniques are used to distinguish their respective roles in the production of pain by having as an endpoint a change in function or pain.

Pain arising from structures around the spine has multiple causes, at times without satisfactory evidence by the different imaging techniques. A common pain (backache) that remains after surgery can be identified by muscle dysfunction and can be confirmed by the use of trigger point injections, which can also facilitate its treatment.

Because the source of pain is often elusive, diagnostic techniques tend to look at altered function and tend, also, to be divided into those relying on a mechanical, chemical, or nerve related response.

About the Procedures

Most people experience excessive back pain at some point in a lifetime. The source might be injury or deterioration of muscles, bone, discs, nerves or a combination thereof.

When conservative therapies such as rest, analgesics, and/or physical therapy fail to relieve pain, a number of minimally-invasive treatments are available to help avoid major surgery.

Pain Management Specialists perform diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections and minimally-invasive pain procedures to help people heal with greater comfort, fewer complications, less risk and better results.

All-In-One Center

With offices located in Shrewsbury, Whiting, Manahawkin, Brick and two in Toms River, Garden State Pain and Radiology Center is quickly becoming the premiere pain treatment center in New Jersey. Whether acute or chronic, Dr. Mann, 40, of Freehold, states that pain can prevent individuals from completing their daily activities. “Many people, when they’re in pain, can’t go through their daily activities,” he said. “I love helping bring people back to their normal activity level — being productive and not dependent on others.” In the past, the only approach to dealing with a patient’s pain was either through invasive surgical procedures or pharmaceutical treatment, which carries with it numerous possible complications, according to Dr.Mann.

Today, advances in medicine and pain management procedures have helped patients improve their quality of life and have become an integral part of many individuals’ comprehensive healthcare plans. With a background in anesthesiology, Dr. Mann recognized the important role his training played in pain management. However, Dr. Mann recognized that by practicing solely as an anesthesiologist, his involvement was instant and short-term. He felt pain management allowed him to have a long term relationship with his patients as he helped them to live fuller, happier lives, free of pain. “In pain management, you have constant contact and more continuity of care,” he said of his vocation.

Garden State Interventional Pain and Radiology Center treats patients suffering from arthritis pain, back and neck pain, sciatica, joint pain, spinal stenosis, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel, cancer pain, herniated disks, and sports injuries, among many other conditions. Utilizing stateof- the-art machines like Fluoroscopy and adding CT and MRI at their larger facilities, the practice is able to offer on-site diagnosis and administration of treatment, eliminating the need for patients to seek diagnostic testing at a hospital or imaging facility. “Because pain management is a relatively new field,” said Dr. Sunita Mann, “patients are just beginning to learn that they can often avoid surgery altogether, as well as lessen the amount of pain medication they require through treatments the practice offers. The procedures we offer,” she said, “can help lessen the pain and inflammation enough so the body’s natural healing response can take over.”

With traditional and alternative treatment techniques, Drs. Dharam and Sunita Mann provide thorough assessment and work diligently to educate their patients and families about the causes of their pain, offering a number of treatment options for each individual circumstance.