When Should You See a Pain Specialist?

Your primary care physician (PCP) is often the right first call when pain starts. They can diagnose many common conditions, order X-rays, prescribe anti-inflammatories, and refer you to physical therapy. For the majority of acute pain episodes — a strained back after moving furniture, muscle soreness after a long run — this is exactly the right pathway.

But there's a category of pain that goes beyond what a generalist is best equipped to treat. If you recognize yourself in the description below, it may be time to see an interventional pain specialist — a physician whose entire practice is built around diagnosing and treating complex, persistent pain conditions.

Sign #1: Your Pain Has Lasted More Than 6 Weeks

Acute pain (under 6 weeks) almost always resolves with conservative care — rest, anti-inflammatories, ice and heat, and time. If you've been dealing with the same pain for longer than 6 weeks despite those measures, that's a clinical signal that something more is going on.

Chronic pain is defined as pain lasting longer than 3 months. At that point, your nervous system may have undergone changes that make it more sensitive to pain signals — a phenomenon called central sensitization. These mechanisms respond poorly to ibuprofen and rest, but can respond well to targeted interventional treatments.

Sign #2: The Pain Is Radiating Down Your Arm or Leg

Pain that travels from your spine into your limbs — arm pain with neck issues, or leg pain with lower back problems — usually indicates nerve involvement. The most common cause is a compressed or inflamed nerve root, which may be caused by a herniated disc, bone spur, or narrowing of the spinal canal (stenosis).

This type of pain often responds well to epidural steroid injections, which deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the affected nerve. The key is getting an accurate diagnosis first — and that requires specialist evaluation and appropriate imaging.

Sign #3: Conservative Treatment Hasn’t Worked After 4–6 Weeks

Physical therapy, chiropractic care, and anti-inflammatory medications help many people. But if you've completed a course of PT, tried NSAIDs and muscle relaxants, and the pain is unchanged or getting worse — you've reached the ceiling of what conservative care alone can offer.

At this point, an interventional evaluation can identify what's driving your pain (often something specific like a facet joint, SI joint, or disc), and target treatment directly at that structure. This often produces results that PT alone was unable to achieve.

Sign #4: Imaging Shows a Structural Problem

If an MRI or CT scan has revealed a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, facet joint arthritis, or another structural issue, you may benefit from a specialist who can correlate those imaging findings with your symptoms and design a treatment plan accordingly.

One important caveat: imaging findings alone don't always dictate treatment. Many people have disc herniations on MRI with no symptoms at all. The specialist's job is to determine whether the structural finding actually explains your pain pattern — and whether a targeted procedure is likely to help.

Sign #5: Your Pain Is Affecting Sleep, Work, or Mental Health

When pain reaches the point where it disrupts sleep consistently, prevents you from doing your job, keeps you from activities you love, or is affecting your mood and mental health — that's a sign that waiting it out is no longer a reasonable strategy. Chronic pain left untreated has well-documented downstream effects on quality of life, relationships, and even cardiovascular health.

What to Expect from a Pain Specialist Consultation

At your first visit with Dr. Qureshi, the consultation typically includes:

• A detailed review of your pain history, prior treatments, and imaging
• A focused physical and neurological examination
• A discussion of likely diagnoses and what additional testing, if any, might be helpful
• A presentation of your treatment options — with a clear explanation of benefits, risks, and realistic expectations for each

There is no obligation to proceed with any procedure at the first visit. The goal of the initial consultation is to get you a clear diagnosis and an honest assessment of your options. From there, you and Dr. Qureshi make decisions together.

Primary Care vs. Pain Specialist: Working Together

Seeing a pain specialist doesn’t mean leaving your PCP behind. In most cases, the two work in coordination. Your PCP continues managing your overall health, while the pain specialist focuses on the musculoskeletal or nerve pain component. If Dr. Qureshi identifies anything outside of his scope, he refers you appropriately and communicates clearly with your primary care team.