To Our Patients

If you are interested in becoming a patient of Georgia Pain Associates, please follow the process described below:

1. Request a written referral from your Primary Care Physician to Georgia Pain Associates for the purposes of Chronic Pain Management.

2. Gather the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of your Primary Care Physician and any pain-related specialists that have treated you in the past, such as orthopedists, neurologists, surgeons, etc.

3. We will also need the location of any previous diagnostic studies, such as MRIs, CT scans, EMGs, etc.

4. Lastly, we will need the name and telephone number of your preferred pharmacy.

5. Call our New Patient Coordinator at the location nearest you. You will be given further instructions at that time.

Please note: We accept most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Quitting Smoking May Help Reduce Back Pain

Could getting the nicotine monkey off your back actually help alleviate your back pain?
New research shows a clear association between smoking and chronic pain, particularly back pain. While it wouldn’t be ethical to conduct randomized controlled trials where some participants were asked to smoke to study the effects on back pain, observational data following smokers versus nonsmokers has provided considerable support for an association between smoking and chronic pain.

The precise reasons for this are still being explored, and studies stop short of proving that smoking causes chronic back pain.

The evidence is strong enough, and studies show those who smoke who suffer from spine injuries or from other back problems that turn out to be short-term issues for some, tend to have a greater chance of going on to develop chronic pain as a result.

While smokers might feel temporary relief from pain when lighting up, the very same nicotine is working against them in other ways. “Nicotine itself is a vasoconstrictor – meaning it narrows blood vessels – so if I expose any blood vessels in my body to it, they constrict, they narrow, and less oxygen gets to it,” Barnett says. “For pain, if (I) have a bad back, I need extra blood flow to help heal … and I’m reducing that. Areas that automatically – just by the architecture of things – get little blood flow, like discs, those can degrade even more so.”

Generally speaking, more research is still needed to understand exactly why smoking might contribute to chronic pain. But where there are already countless reasons to kick the habit, this is another, clinicians say, that shouldn’t be ignored. And it’s something patients should talk to their health providers about as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce – or prevent – persistent back pain.

Americans Looking for Better Treatments for Chronic Pain Than a Pill Can Provide

Chronic pain is affecting more than 50 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Of those affected, more than 20 million have such pain that it keeps them from working or providing proper care for themselves or their families, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by the CDC and Consumer Reports, shows that Americans, more than ever, are feeling the long-term effects of poor diet and exercise habits and a more sedentary lifestyle overall.

So what can people do?

“There’s no magic bullet,” said Consumer Reports’ Lisa Gill. “Lasting solutions are usually made up of several different kinds of treatment.” The American College of Physicians recommends trying non-drug measures first, such as exercises that incorporate mindfulness, like tai chi and yoga. Acupuncture and massage have also been found to help some with chronic back pain and fibromyalgia.

The study concluded that better diet and exercise under the proper care of a doctor who specializes in pain management can greatly increase the quality of life and, in some cases, eliminate the pain altogether.

- The Associated Press contributed to this story.