Sidra Medicine, a member of Qatar Foundation, has launched Qatar’s first Adult Pain Clinic for Women for those aged 18 and above.
“We are the first one in Qatar to open a pain clinic for women with specialisation for pelvic pain. Women outweigh men in pain as they suffer more from a condition called fibromyalgia,” Dr Sandeep Kulkarni, a senior attending physician at the clinic said.
The women’s adult pain clinic is staffed by a team of internationally trained pain management specialists who conduct careful and comprehensive evaluations to determine the cause of the patients’ pain, offering recommendations unique to each patient’s individual needs. The clinic treats all kinds of chronic pain conditions in women, including post caesarean section, operative pain; pelvic pain; knee, shoulder or neck pain; headaches and more.
Dr Monzer Sadek, division chief, anaesthesiology at Sidra Medicine, said, “The new adult pain clinic is aimed at providing women with compassionate and excellent care. We offer a holistic approach to treating chronic pain. Our treatment programme includes options such as injection by guided X-rays, cognitive behavioural therapy, physiotherapy, ultrasound and advanced pain interruption techniques.”
The most common chronic pain areas diagnosed in women are in the pelvic region, the back or knees. “Pelvic pain is very acute and can be intolerable sometimes. It needs more than pain treatment. Physiotherapy is a good way of treating such pain and we have a multidisciplinary team to treat such pain,” explained Dr Sadek.
At Sidra Medicine, patients are offered treatment which is monitored throughout the therapy duration. Treatment of chronic pain may involve medication, nerve blocks, active physical therapy, behavioural interventions, and assistance with vocational evaluation and training. Patients are referred to the clinic internally and the hospital also accepts external referrals from other clinics and general practitioners.
“We have just started the clinic and the response we are getting is very encouraging. The number of people visiting the clinic is going upward and we are getting very positive feedback from the patients. Our wholesome approach makes the work more effective,” noted Dr Timothy Pavy, senior attending physician, at the clinic.
“We conduct a full examination to help determine the cause of the pain. We discuss the available treatment options with patients so that they can decide on the one that best suits them. It is our multi-disciplinary clinic approach that makes healthcare at Sidra Medicine stand out, as our patient and family centred care features input from a range of specialists in different disciplines, including gynaecology, pain medicine, physiotherapy and clinical psychology described,” Dr Kulkarni.
The clinic is not aimed at cancer patients or those on palliative care. It is also not available to patients with a history of drug abuse including recreational substances and chronic alcoholism.