The term “pain management” is much more than finding a pill that reduces symptoms. When you start working with a pain management specialist, it means that you have a medical expert on your side to explore a variety of treatment options.
The ultimate goal with pain management is to provide relief as quickly as possible while also implementing strategies that also create long-term results. Pain management can be used for a variety of symptoms and medical concerns, including both acute and chronic pain.
Two Main Types of Pain
Pain is quite common and can result from various diseases, injuries, and other physical issues. The risk of pain tends to go up as a person gets older, although pain management can be available for people of all ages.
As you are seeking pain management services, your doctor will want to understand more about your type of pain and medical history. Pain is usually categorized in two ways:
- Acute Pain: This is a typical experience after any type of injury. For example, if you are in an accident or post-surgery, you will experience acute pain. Generally, this type of pain is short-lived, and it starts suddenly.
- Chronic Pain: On the other hand, chronic pain is characterized by the fact that it continues longer than the anticipated recovery time. If a person is experiencing pain symptoms for 3 months or more, it falls in the category of chronic pain.
Pain sensations can vary from sharp and intense symptoms to a dull aching feeling. In addition, the pain can be focused on one specific part of the body. Or, certain medical conditions result in widespread pain throughout the body.
Examples: Common Conditions Pain Management Doctors Treat
Do you have a medical condition that a pain management doctor can treat? As long as you are experiencing pain, regardless of the underlying cause, then it’s likely that you can benefit from pain management services.
Here are some of the reasons why patients choose to consult with a pain management doctor:
- Back pain
- Neck pain
- Joint pain (knees, hips, etc.)
- Fibromyalgia
- Arthritis
- Sciatica
- Migraines
- Post-surgery
- Cancer
- Accident or injury
- And More
While pain management services can be helpful for acute pain, most pain management doctors devote their time to working with patients who have chronic pain issues. Typically, a patient has exhausted their treatment options with general physicians and wants to meet with a specialist to find treatments that work.
Pain Management: An Alternative When Other Treatments Aren’t Working
Chronic pain can be challenging to diagnose and sometimes take months or years to treat. As a result, general physicians have limited options for addressing pain. Typically, the first suggestion is to use pain medication to reduce the symptoms – but this approach doesn’t address the root cause of the pain.
Patients who don’t want to rely on medications every day often look for other treatment options through pain management services. When you meet with a pain management doctor, you have the opportunity to look at your health condition and symptoms in a different way.
Pain management specialists take a whole-body approach to find the most effective solutions for managing symptoms. It’s common to use multiple therapies in a customized treatment plan for each patient.
Types of Treatments Available Through Pain Management
These are some of the most common types of treatments to consider as part of your personalized pain management treatment plan:
Medications
While you want to reduce your reliance on medications, sometimes over-the-counter or prescription medications can be an essential part of the initial stages of the treatment plan. Not only do these medications offer pain relief, but they can help to reduce inflammation, stiffness, and muscle aches.
Common medications include pain relievers, muscle relaxants, antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills, stronger prescription painkillers, and more.
Injections
Sometimes, an injection of pain medication into the affected area can be a fast and effective way to find relief. For example, steroid injections are used for joint problems. Injections can be used in more than 40 parts of the body.
One example of injections is a nerve block. With this treatment, the doctor injects the medication into the area to temporarily numb the nerve. As the medicine wears off, the nerve can reset, which reduces the likelihood that the nerve will be firing pain messages to the brain.
The injection includes multiple medications: an anesthetic that offers immediate relief and indicates whether the correct area is being treated and an anti-inflammatory agent to reduce swelling and irritation in the local area.
Other Types of Drug Delivery
When more intensive pain management is needed using medication, it might work better to use different types of delivery (instead of oral medications).
Examples include intravenous infusions that deliver the medications into the veins directly or intrathecal drug delivery to use a pump that directs medicine into the spinal fluid.
Nerve Treatments
Radiofrequency ablation is a modern technology that involves the use of probes that heat up the nerves. By targeting the affected nerves with a heat treatment, it can stop the pain signals to the brain because the nerve function is changed.
Another option is electrical nerve stimulation which uses an electrode to stimulate the affected nerves. Electrical pulses feel like mild tingling and can replace the sensation of pain.
Physical Therapy
When structural issues contribute to the pain symptoms, then ongoing physical therapy services can be helpful in improving strength, flexibility, and range of motion. These exercises are specifically designed to address the affected area and surrounding muscles and issues that could be contributing to the symptoms.
Not only do patients perform exercises with a physical therapist, but it’s common to have exercises that should be completed at home as well.
Psychological Therapy
There are times when relaxation therapy and/or cognitive behavioral therapy can be helpful in addressing any emotional or mental factors that are contributing to the pain. These mid-body techniques are complementary to other types of treatments.
Other Integrative Therapies
Your pain management specialist might also talk to you about other types of therapies that can be integrated into your treatment plan. Examples include acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and any other services that help to reduce the stress associated with pain and improve the overall quality of life.
Schedule a Consultation with a Pain Management Specialist
Are you tired of living with pain all the time? The good news is that other treatments could help you find relief. If you are searching for answers, it might be time to schedule a consultation with a pain management expert.
Our team at Kentuckiana Pain Specialists is here to help with comprehensive pain management services. We have an office you can visit in the Louisville, Kentucky, area. Book a consultation by calling our office at (502) 995-4004.