What Is Algology?

Algology is the branch of medicine that investigates, assesses and treats pain. The name comes from the Greek words algos (pain) and logos (study). In English it is more often called pain medicine. An algologist looks for the source of long-lasting or hard-to-control pain and builds a treatment plan that suits the individual.

What do pain and chronic pain mean?

The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) describes pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that is linked to actual or potential tissue damage, or that resembles such an experience. This definition is a reminder that pain is not only a tissue problem; it is also shaped by sleep, mood and life circumstances.

Pain that persists or keeps coming back for more than three months is called chronic pain. Sometimes chronic pain is a symptom of another disease; sometimes it is a condition that needs treatment in its own right. Chronic pain is at the centre of algology, but pain after surgery and cancer pain are also part of an algologist's work.

Who is an algologist in Türkiye?

In Türkiye, algology is a subspecialty. After medical school, a doctor first qualifies as a specialist in anaesthesiology and reanimation, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or neurology. They then complete two years of subspecialty training in algology.

This training covers the diagnosis of pain, medicines and image-guided interventional procedures. An algologist can therefore plan and carry out procedures aimed at the source of the pain, both to confirm a diagnosis and to treat it.

Which conditions does an algologist treat?

People most often see an algologist for:

• Low back pain and lumbar disc herniation
• Sciatica, pain that spreads down the leg
• Cervical disc herniation, which can also cause pain spreading into the arm
• Headache and facial pain, such as migraine, cluster headache and trigeminal neuralgia
• Neuropathic pain, which may develop after diabetes, shingles (herpes zoster) or nerve injury
• Cancer pain, caused by the illness itself or by its treatment
• Fibromyalgia, with widespread pain, tiredness and sleep problems

Pain that continues after surgery, joint pain and muscle pain are also assessed. You can find the full list, grouped by body region, on the Conditions page.

Which treatments are used?

Treatment is always planned for the individual and usually starts with the least invasive options: adjusting medication, exercise, physiotherapy and advice on daily habits. If these steps are not enough, or if the pain clearly comes from a specific structure, interventional treatments may be considered:

• Epidural steroid injection, which aims to reduce inflammation around a nerve root
• Radiofrequency treatment, which uses heat or an electrical field to change how pain-carrying nerves send signals
• Sympathetic nerve blocks, used for some types of facial, arm, leg and abdominal pain
• Neuromodulation, such as spinal cord stimulation, for carefully selected patients

In chronic pain, sleep, stress management and, when needed, psychological support can also be part of treatment, so a plan often combines more than one approach.

Interventional procedures are performed under fluoroscopy (live X-ray) or ultrasound guidance. Every procedure has possible risks, and its suitability for you is decided after an examination and any necessary tests. For details of each method, see the Treatments page.

When should you see an algologist?

An assessment by an algologist may help if:

• Your pain has lasted for more than three months
• Despite medication and physiotherapy, pain clearly affects your daily life, work or sleep
• Pain spreads into your arm or leg, with numbness or tingling
• You cannot take painkillers because of their side effects
• You have been advised to have surgery and would also like to know about other options
• Pain after surgery is lasting longer than expected

What happens at the first visit?

At your first appointment you will be asked when and how your pain started, where it spreads, what makes it better or worse, and which treatments you have already tried. This is followed by a physical and neurological examination.

It helps to bring:

• Your MRI, CT or X-ray images (on a CD or as a download link) and their reports
• The names and doses of all your medicines, especially any blood thinners
• Reports from previous surgery, hospital stays or procedures, if you have them

A short pain diary kept for a few days before your visit also helps: score your pain from 0 to 10 and note when it gets worse and what it stops you from doing.

Further tests may be requested. In some cases a diagnostic block (a test in which a nerve is numbed for a short time) may be planned to confirm where the pain is coming from. At the end of the visit, the likely diagnosis, the treatment options and their expected benefits and risks are discussed, and the decision is made together with you.

What is a "pain clinic"?

In Türkiye, hospital departments where algologists see patients are called an "ağrı polikliniği" (pain outpatient clinic) or "algoloji polikliniği". Both terms describe the same service: a specialist assessment that looks for the source of pain and plans its treatment. When needed, an algologist works with physiotherapists, psychologists, surgeons and oncologists, because managing chronic pain rarely relies on a single method.

The same assessment is carried out at a private clinic. If an interventional procedure is needed, it is performed in a licensed healthcare facility with the necessary imaging equipment.

References

• International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP): Terminology
• Treede RD, et al. Chronic pain as a symptom or a disease: the IASP Classification of Chronic Pain for the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Pain. 2019;160(1):19-27.
• Türk Algoloji-Ağrı Derneği: Yan Dal Süreci (the subspecialty process, in Turkish)