“Our goal is to manage your pain and improve your ability to function.” Mohammed Zaman, M.D., Medical Director, Bay Pain Management Center

You’ve come to Bay’s Pain Management Center for relief from the excrucitating pain you’ve feel in your sciatic nerve.

When Mohammed Zaman, M.D. enters the exam room, you sense his grasp of your medical history and the source and severity of your pain. You’re here because of a referring physician. But don’t expect Dr. Zaman to give you a quick exam, and write a script for a pain medication.

“When we experience pain,” he says, “aside from the common headache, it can be managed, but it may never completely go away. Our brain and nervous system send reminders. Pain is more than a score between 1 and 10. The impact of pain is how you function. As a general rule, we manage patients that need long-term interventional pain procedures to live a functional, quality life.

“I ask many questions about the pain you are experiencing. ‘Where?’ ‘When?’ ‘Does it come and go, or is it constant?’ ‘What effect does pain have on your daily life?’ ‘Are you very sensitive to pain, or do you tolerate pain well, and now it’s unmanageable?’ ‘How are you handling your pain emotionally?’ ‘What physical activities are you doing despite your pain?’ I physically examine the areas where the patient reports pain.

“Then, I tell you the truth. There is no miracle drug or procedure. We can help you manage your pain very well, and help you learn to function with proper pain management.

“Depending on the source and severity of the pain, we discuss a pain management strategy. Short-term, I usually prescribe a medication to knock down the pain’s severity. Our skilled pain management nursing staff presents a visual picture of the relief to expect from our long-term plan. They describe other strategies to lessen pain, like physical therapy, visualization, or other techniques to improve function.

“Each patient is unique. They may need a nerve block, an intrathecal or epidural steroid injection, an implantable device to turn off pain-generating nerves, or a botox injection for myofascial syndrome or fibromyalgia.

“Patients quickly learn we work as a team, with a plan, and the patient must work the plan with the team.”

To refer a patient to Bay’s Pain Management Center, call (989) 667-6390 or e-mail: monica.baranski@mclaren.org"

McLaren-Bay Region Pain Management Center West Side Medical Mall 4175 N. Euclid Ave., Suite 6 Bay City, MI 48706 Phone: (989) 667-3350 Fax: (989) 667-3366