Pain management in California

Who regulates care in California

• Physician licenses: Medical Board of California
• Work injuries: California Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC)
• Medicaid program: Medi-Cal

Treatments pain specialists in Long Beach commonly offer

Epidural steroid injection

Calms an irritated spinal nerve root; used for sciatica and arm pain from the neck.

Facet block and radiofrequency ablation

Finds, then quiets, arthritic small joints of the spine for months at a time.

Sacroiliac joint injection

For low back and buttock pain from the joint between spine and pelvis.

Occipital nerve block

For headaches that start at the back of the head and neck.

Kyphoplasty

Stabilizes painful spinal compression fractures, often from osteoporosis.

Spinal cord stimulation

An implanted device for nerve pain that has not responded to other care; always trialed first.

Not every office offers every procedure; ask before you book.

Choosing a pain doctor in Long Beach

• Check the license with the Medical Board of California. Physicians can also be looked up on DocInfo.org.
• Ask whether the doctor is board certified in pain medicine (through anesthesiology, PM&R or neurology).
• Ask which procedures are done in the office and which at a surgery center, and who reads your imaging.
• Bring a list of medicines, prior imaging (MRI, X-ray) and the dates your pain started or changed.
• In California, prescribers check the CURES database before prescribing controlled pain medicines, so tell the doctor about every prescription you take.