Pain Management

People used to think that severe or chronic pain was something they "just had to put up with." But with current treatments that's no longer true. At Legacy’s pain management centers, our focus is on improving your function and quality of life, while decreasing the physical discomfort and emotional suffering that accompanies chronic pain, or surgery-related pain. 

Our services 

We can help with all types of chronic pain, including: 

• Palliative (comfort) care
• Muscular dystrophy
• Spasticity in children

We offer a range of services to help our patients, including: 

• Physical therapy focusing on managing chronic pain
• Medication evaluation and management, including an evaluation by a pharmacist
• Advice nurse phone line
• Pain management education groups
• Stress management
• Implanted Pump & Spinal Cord Stimulator Service
• MAP program service

Before surgery: Be prepared

Today you can work with your nurses and doctors before and after surgery to prevent or relieve pain.

Being prepared helps put you in control. You may want to write down your questions before you meet with your doctor or nurse. Understand your treatment plan, including why and how it will done. Here are some good questions to ask:

• Will there be much pain?
• Where will it occur?
• How long is it likely to last? 

Let us know

As a patient at Legacy, we want you to be as comfortable and pain-free as possible. Pain can be a sign of problems, so if you're feeling discomfort, please let your doctors and nurses know. Never worry about being a "bother," and don't automatically assume that you need less pain medication because your pain is under control.

By controlling pain, you will:

• Enjoy greater comfort while you heal
• Get your strength back faster
• Feel better sooner
• Avoid problems such as pneumonia and blood clots
• Leave the hospital sooner   

 Medication options

• PCA pump (Patient Controlled Analgesia) allows you to control when you get pain medicine. When you begin to feel pain, you press a button to inject the pain medicine through the intravenous (IV) tube into your vein.
• Epidural is a small tube placed in your back by the anesthesiologist. The tube is connected to a pump that delivers pain medicine.
• Injection is dose of medicine given via a syringe into a muscle.
• Oral medication is taken by mouth in pill or liquid form. 

For best results take your pain medicine as prescribed, or if you're an inpatient ask the nurse for medication when the pain starts. If you know your pain will worsen when you start getting out of bed, walking, or doing breathing exercises, take the medication first. It's harder to ease pain once it has taken hold.

You may be interested in these suggestions about non-drug pain control methods.

Our locations

Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center
Good Samaritan Building 3, Suite 345
1130 N.W. 22nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97210
Phone: 503-413-7513
Fax: 503-413-7503
Hours: M-F, 8am-5pm
Map/Directions

Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center
Medical Office Building B, Suite 265
2101 N.E. 139th Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98686
Phone: 360-487-2700
Fax: 360-487-2701
Hours: M-F, 8am-5pm
Map/Directions

Our providers