Pain management expert witness Dr. Forest Tennant testified July 2nd that untreated chronic pain will break down the human body. Tennant heads a pain research clinic and is an expert witness for the defense of Dr. William Mangino, a Pennsylvania doctor being prosecuted for violations of the state’s drug act. Reports the New Castle News, Tennant viewed files of 11 of Mangino’s patients and commented that the guidelines for pain management “were quite well followed.”
Tennant, a founder of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, said the standards are that a doctor has to believe the patient and provide enough relief for the pain without sedating or impairing the patient….”Pain itself is a deadly disease,” Tennant said, noting it can cause detrimental hormone changes in the brain, spinal cord and adrenal glands. “People with acute pain start rusting out from the inside if they don’t get pain relief, and it’s important to treat pain,” he said.