Pain medicine specialists work with patients to relieve suffering and discomfort that may be present during a medical or surgical procedure, or because of a disease or condition. An anesthesiologist is a physician who has had special training and is board-certified in pain management. A pain medicine specialist can be an anesthesiologist, neurologist, or psychiatrist. This specialist is either the primary physician, or acts as a consultant, to coordinate a patient’s care with other physicians.

For chronic or severe pain, narcotics are often used. Narcotics carry with them a potential for side effects and addiction, so patients and physicians must weigh the level of pain against these concerns in the pain management process.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Kansas has 66 practicing pain medicine doctors. Broken out by city, pain medicine doctor density in Belleville is 1, in Girard is 1, in Great Bend is 1, in Hays is 3, in Hutchinson is 1, in Kansas City is 5, in Lawrence is 3, in Leavenworth is 1, in Leawood is 17, in Lenexa is 1, in Manhattan is 1, in Olathe is 2, in Overland Park is 24, in Pittsburg is 1, in Shawnee is 1, in Shawnee Mission is 8, in Topeka is 3, and in Wichita is 12.

Kansas was admitted to the United States in 1861. Topeka is its capital city, and the population of Kansas is 2,744,687. Topeka offers sports and recreation, arts and cultural entertainment, and casinos to residents and visitors. Lucas claims to be the Folk Art center of the United States. Visit the Pony Express National Historic Trail, tour historic Fort Leavenworth, or see the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchinson. Kansas is also home to the John Brown Museum, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Kansas has a population of 2,744,687. Of this population, 652,270 are under the age of 18 and 354,995 are at or above the age of 65.