Medical doctor, primary care, urgent care, physical therapist, chiropractor, orthopedist, or pain management??
A medical doctor, who is not a spine specialist, will probably give you some medications for your pains; maybe an injection too. If your pain is severe, she/he may also refer you to an orthopedist or physical therapist.
An urgent care doctor will probably do the same, and may take x-rays.
A physical therapist will evaluate you, and probably start to treat you with some exercises and passive therapies to try to alleviate your pains. He/she will also send a report to your doctor, requesting a Rx to continue physical therapy. The doctor will probably comply with the request.
A chiropractor will probably see you sooner, take x-rays, and begin treatment with passive therapies, including adjustments.
An orthopedist will probably take x-rays, and send you to physical therapy for six weeks, and re-evaluate you after six weeks.
A pain management doctor is usually not available to see you without a referral from another doctor. They treat patients with injections and medications, and will want to see diagnostic imaging, usually an MRI scan.
Who you should see, first, depends on many variables, many of which you cannot know. These include, what is your diagnosis, do you need diagnostic imaging, do you know a good doctor, or have a personal recommendation from someone, is your insurance relevant, how soon can you get an appointment, will you like the doctor, and more.
If you think your problem is serious enough to see a doctor, then I would suggest you see an orthopedist or chiropractor first. Generally, the actual person doing the treatment will be a physical therapist or chiropractor, so seeing a chiropractor will probably be the fastest way to actually get treatment, because the orthopedist will see you, and then send you to a physical therapist, and that will take days or weeks, while a chiropractor can probably see you within one or two days.
If you’re in the Atlanta metro area, and I can help you with your neck or back pain, please call Dr. Castanet at 404-558-4015
