Pain can impact all aspects of our daily lives, from work and family time to hobbies and leisure activities. Now, thanks to rapid advancements in its management and treatment, debilitating pain is no longer something we have to simply accept.
At the forefront of this field and spearheading many of the innovative new pain treatments now available is Dr Jonathan Rajan, consultant in pain medicine and anaesthesia at The Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Spire Didsbury and the Orth Team Centre.
Advanced technologies and AI
“The treatment and management of pain, both chronic and acute, is developing incredibly quickly thanks to new technologies including more sophisticated electrical therapies and artificial intelligence,” Dr Rajan says. “We can help speed up a person’s recovery and prevent them from suffering long-term pain by using a multi-disciplinary approach with access to, and expertise in, a range of new, innovative interventions.
“Whether someone is referred to me from the NHS, their physiotherapist or whether they self-refer, I take a holistic approach to their pain, reviewing their medical history and all treatment to date.”
Holistic approach
Dr Rajan continues: “I can then determine a plan which could include scans and a combination of treatments from targeted pain medication to steroid injections, psychological support or interventions such as epidurals, pulsed radiofrequency techniques, root blocks and denervation treatment. The latter is of particular help to those unable to have traditional knee or hip surgery, such as the elderly, as well as those with back or shoulder pain.”
Radiofrequency denervation procedures are among Dr Rajan’s areas of specialist interest and expertise which also include the management of metabolic pain conditions, fibromyalgia, facial pain and complex regional pain syndrome.
Faster recovery
“Pain can have such a significant and detrimental impact on a person’s everyday life but there is always something we can do to speed up recovery and improve outcomes and quality of life,” he explains. “Technological advancements and our hands-on, multi-disciplinary approach to pain treatment, means that patients can get back to living and enjoying their lives far quicker.”
Dr Rajan, known as Jonny, who is originally from the North West, qualified as a doctor from Edinburgh University in 2006 and trained in both London and the North West. He says it was the developments in technology and the fact that it was one of the few areas of medicine that combined all three disciplines (medical, surgical and psychological) which led him to specialise as a pain consultant.
“It was an area where I could combine my love of science and the arts with my love of people,” he explains. “Also, I’ve always found technology very exciting, and things were moving at an incredible pace in the field of pain medicine.”
Dr Jonathan Ragan. Consultant in Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia, The Alexandra Hospital, Cheadle. FFPMRCA, FRCA, MbCHB, BSc (Hons), PGCERT (Med Ed.)
Quality of life
“Increasingly, we can do so much more to help people whether that is enabling them to get back out on the golf course or tennis court or helping them to drastically improve their quality of life when dealing with a long-term condition,” he says. “New and ever-evolving techniques combined with other treatments can have someone out of discomfort and distress and active again in no time.”
Active family time
A keen tennis player himself who says he’d play every day if he could, Dr Rajan is a member of Bowdon Tennis Club where he can usually be seen on the court a couple of times a week. A car enthusiast and amateur photographer, he shares his life and home with his surgeon wife and two young children.
“Bowdon and the surrounding area have everything we could ask for,” he says. “There is easy access to Cheadle and Manchester, the airport and the motorways as well as great schools and the beautiful countryside which we enjoy exploring with our dog, William.”
Standout skills
Jonny combines his specialist work at The Alexandra Hospital and Orth Team Centre with roles including being the vice chair of examinations for the Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists and lead pain medicine trainer for the UK. He also has links with the Human Pain Research Group and is an honorary NHS consultant at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.
Among his standout clinical skills are cutting edge radiofrequency techniques for back pain, refractory knee pain and denervation treatments for patients who are not fit for surgery. He also offers platelet rich plasma regenerative medicine techniques for joint pain and muscle tears. In addition, he has acute pain medicine expertise and provides treatment for trauma and complex spines. Experienced in pain management rehabilitation following injury, Dr Rajan is also an expert medical witness for personal injury cases involving chronic pain.
Positive outcomes
“A lot of pain is short term and can be treated and managed at home,” says Dr Rajan. “For mechanical pain, I would advise using the correct type and amount of over-the-counter pain relief and remaining as active as possible. Combine this with periods of rest, perhaps elevating a limb or using an ice or heat pack.”
However, he says that if someone is not getting relief from medication or their pain continues for a few weeks, assessment is required. With nerve pain, his advice is the sooner you can get treatment the better.
“Really, I just want people to know that something can be done about their pain,” he concludes. “They no longer need to grin and bear it. A better quality of life is attainable.”
To book an appointment with Dr Jonathan Rajan, please call 08082 964619 or visit www.manchester-pain-clinic.co.uk.
By Michelle Cheaney
