As we get older, we often face conditions where managing different types of pain becomes a necessity. Chronic conditions such as low back pain, joint pain, and spinal stenosis become everyday realities for both older men and women. While people often think they need surgery to solve these problems, Dr. Lisa Witkin, Instructor of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Management, has endeavored to educate patients and their families about a variety of ways to manage chronic pain conditions.
Since joining the full-time faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology’s Division of Pain Medicine last summer, Dr. Lisa Witkin has been active in raising awareness about chronic pain conditions and management strategies to the New York City community, and specifically to the aging population. Practicing out of NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital (as well as Weill Cornell Pain Medicine’s main office on the Upper East Side), Dr. Witkin has focused her community outreach efforts in the Lower Manhattan community. On June 25, she spoke to a group of seniors at the Brookdale Senior Living Center located at The Hallmark of Battery Park City. She has also recently lectured at Southbridge Towers earlier this year, reaching out to thousands of the seniors living in downtown Manhattan. At events like this, Dr. Witkin can speak with groups of interested seniors in a familiar, comfortable, and non-hospital environment.
With talks entitled “Getting Older Doesn’t Have to Hurt,” and “The Multidisciplinary Approach to Low Back Pain,” Dr. Witkin reviewed many of the most painful conditions affecting people as they age, as well as the variety of therapies available to treat these conditions. Like all physicians at the Weill Cornell Pain Medicine practice, she favors a comprehensive, multi-modal approach to pain management. Options go beyond traditional treatments such as surgery and medication, and include a number of complimentary treatments and minimally invasive interventions. She also focuses on the importance of diet, lifestyle and exercise in pain management.