What is pain management?
Pain management is a proactive approach to minimizing long-term and incurable pain. Dr. Patel is an expert in helping patients manage chronic pain conditions such as:
- Arthritis
- Back and neck pain
- Cancer pain
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Failed neck or back surgery syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches and migraines
- Pelvic pain
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Radiculopathy
- Sciatica
- Vertebral compression fractures
Without expert pain management, these and many other chronic pain disorders can cause ongoing disability and severely reduce quality of life.
What treatments are used in pain management?
The initial treatments Dr. Patel uses for pain management are generally the most conservative. These are the safest approaches and also deliver long-lasting benefits for most patients.
Your pain management plan is likely to include active physical therapy, involving personally tailored exercises that keep you moving and prevent your condition from worsening. You might also benefit from passive physical therapy treatments like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
Medications can help — even opioids for some patients — but need to be expertly prescribed and frequently reviewed to minimize the risks of side effects.
You might also benefit from a course of regenerative medicine treatment such as stem cell therapy if you have repairable tissue damage.
Understanding your pain, why it's there, and how to think about it can make a significant difference to your ability to cope, so counseling is highly beneficial too.
What advanced pain management treatments might I need?
If your condition isn't improving noticeably with more conservative options, Dr. Patel can add advanced, minimally invasive techniques to your pain management plan. These could include:
Nerve blocks
Nerve block injections are also useful for diagnosis. They contain a local or regional anesthetic to block pain temporarily.
Options include celiac plexus blocks, celiac plexus/splanchnic blocks, ganglion impar/coccygeal blocks, lumbar sympathetic blocks, medial branch blocks, peripheral blocks, occipital blocks, stellate ganglion blocks, trigeminal ganglion blocks, and superior hypogastric plexus blocks.
Steroid injections
Steroid injections deliver powerful anti-inflammatory drugs to the heart of your pain. Options include joint injections, cervical, lumbar, and thoracic epidural steroids, facet joint injections, and sacroiliac joint injections.
Neuromodulation therapy
Spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation use implantable devices to disrupt pain signals before they reach your brain.
Other options include:
- Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty for vertebral compression fractures
- Radiofrequency ablation for the spine or knees
- Trigger point injections for knotted muscle tissues
- Viscosupplementation to lubricate arthritic joints
- Ketamine infusions
Dr. Patel uses ultrasound imaging technology to guide the placement of the needle or implantable device and ensure optimal accuracy.
To find out how you can manage your pain more effectively, call Spine & Pain Institute of Texas today or book an appointment online.
