Why It’s So Important To Find A Spine Specialist That Advocates For You

Dealing with a painful health condition can be extremely hard, even if you have people who believe and support you in your life. Managing a pain condition without those support systems in place can be even more difficult. And while we can’t control whether your friends or family empathize with or understand your situation, you do have some control in finding a spine specialist who will advocate for you. Below, we explain why it’s so important to find a spine care specialist who advocates for you.

A Spine Doctor Who Cares

Finding a doctor who believes you and is willing to go to bat for you is incredibly important when it comes to managing your spinal condition. Some of the ways we advocate for our patients include:

• Contacting Insurance – If we believe that a specific course of treatment is medically necessary, and you’re receiving pushback from the insurance company about coverage, we will advocate for you. We do not know the specific details of your insurance plan, but we are happy to speak to the necessity of our recommended course of treatment should insurance be reluctant to provide coverage because of concerns over the relevance of treatment.
• Work Injuries – Whether you need a note from your doctor for your boss, or you need much more involved care (like an independent medical exam and doctor advocacy throughout the course of a workers’ compensation claim), Dr. Sinicropi and his team will be with you every step of the way.
• Juvenile Advocates – We’ll also advocate for your son and daughter in their time of need. If they need medical clearance to participate in a sport or need a letter stating why they cannot partake in gym class or other physical activities, we’re glad to speak up for your child as well.

Aside from helping with some of the above processes, having a doctor who advocates for you and believes in you can be incredibly helpful from a treatment standpoint. For starters, you know that you are going to get an involved physician who isn’t just going to write you a script and send you on your way. Medications only tend to target the symptoms of a spinal issue, not the underlying cause, and while they certainly play a role in helping you overcome a back issue, you’re better off pursuing more active interventions. An involved physician will pair medications with exercise, physical therapy or other active treatments that focus on the root cause of your pain.

Additionally, we routinely talk about how back pain is more than just a physical issue. There are significant mental and emotional components to spinal pain, and having a doctor who is willing to advocate for you can really help you manage these mental side effects. Feeling like nobody believes you or that nobody cares can compound feelings of anxiety, depression and stress, all of which will only make it harder to effectively treat the full nature of your back injury. When you have someone in your corner who you can count on, it’s much easier to overcome the mental side of back pain. Treatment outcomes greatly improve when patients are lucky enough to find a physician who truly cares about them, so don’t just settle for any random doctor you are assigned to when you present to their office with pain. If you don’t feel like your spine specialist is on your side, look elsewhere for care.

Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute pride themselves on really taking the time to get to know all of their patients and understanding their needs, desires and goals. We want to be an advocate and an ally in your quest to overcome your back issue. To see how we do that, or to learn more about a back issue that you’re dealing with, pick up the phone and contact Dr. Sinicropi’s office today at (651) 430-3800.

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