CWPC adopts evidence-based clinical practice guidelines developed by the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians for interventional pain management using precision interventional diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in the management of chronic pain with emphasis on spinal pain to improve

1. patient access
2. quality of care
3. patient outcomes
4. efficiency
5. cost containment

Chronic Pain: “Pain that exists beyond an expected time for healing”. “Chronic Pain is understood as persistent pain that is not amenable to routine pain control methods”.

Psychosocial effects of chronic pain include depression, fear, anxiety, loss of employment and income, isolation, sleep disorders, and problematic relationships. The physical effects include increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased blood sugar, decreased digestive activity, and reduced blood flow.

Prevalence of chronic pain: In a Gallup Survey of “Pain in America,” more than 4 out of 10 adults (42%) said they experienced pain on a daily basis. Approximately five million Americans are disabled by back problems. Chronic back pain accounts for 100.6 million workdays lost for men alone.

According to a survey by Medical Data International, back pain costs between $50 and $100 billion. Cancer pain costs of care are estimated at 12 billion per year.

Interventional Pain Management is defined as the discipline of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of pain and related disorders by the application of interventional techniques independently or in conjunction with other modalities of treatment.

Structural basis of chronic spinal pain: 1) facet joint pain, 2) disc related pain, 3) sacroiliac joint pain, 4) postlaminectomy syndrome, 5) spinal stenosis