New Greystone medical practice helps patients deal with chronic pain

Dr. Joshua Meyer said for him, the practice of pain medicine is very personal.

At first, he got into the field because of practical reasons — he studied obstetrics and gynecology, then shifted into anesthesiology because the schedule allowed him more flexibility to be with family.

“I found, however, that I missed my day-to-day patient contact and continuity of care,” Meyer said. “I then found out that pain medicine was a board-certified subspecialty of anesthesiology. When I realized that pain medicine meant caring for patients on a continual basis, I was intrigued, and by God’s hand, I got into it.”

And then about six months into opening his practice, he hurt his own back.

“It changed the way I thought about how pain medicine, pain management is approached overall,” Meyer said.

That was in 2016. Now he’s seven years into the work of helping people manage pain, and his practice — Legacy Pain & Spine Specialists — has recently opened a new office at U.S. 280 and Hugh Daniel Drive after having an established office in Anniston for years.

At his practice, Meyer — who did his medical studies at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and at Emory University in Atlanta — provides interventional pain medicine by treating the source, not just medicating it. Their office provides a variety of state-of-the-art treatment options to help relieve chronic pain issues such as neck pain, back pain and joint pain.

They know experiencing pain can be disorienting, and they love helping people have more quality of life again.

“We listen to our patients,” Meyer said. “It’s not necessarily what the X-rays or MRIs show, though that can be very helpful information. It’s 90% listening to what they are dealing with.”

He said there are five ways for people to deal with chronic pain. First, they can live with it. Next, they could try therapy such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, aqua massage or cognitive therapy. Third, they could try medications, whether over the counter or prescription. Fourth, they could try more aggressive therapy, such as interventions or injections. The final option is surgery.

“I tell my patients, ‘You probably came to see me because you don’t want to just live with it,’” Meyer said.

From there, he’s able to put together a treatment plan from the middle three options to find something that works. He said Legacy Pain & Spine Specialists is a comprehensive practice that takes all options into consideration to see what works best for each individual patient.

They aren’t lopsided toward one treatment, such as medication or injections.

“I advise them on medications, injections and therapy,” Meyer said, noting that they are able to do many of those treatments right there in the office. “I do that with some bias as a physician living with some pain myself. It is ultimately very personal, and that’s why I’m passionate about it.”

For more information, visit legacypainandspine.com.