“Chronic pain may develop after an injury or due to a medical issue. Pain is defined as chronic if it lasts longer than 3 months, or beyond the normal healing time for the underlying condition or injury. Chronic pain can affect every part of the sufferer’s life, from work & social life to sleep & mental health” [1]
Getting Your Life Back on Track
Chronic pain is linked to a vast number of physical and mental health conditions. These include: taking too much medication, feeling socially isolated, suffering from insomnia, and depression. – These life destroying conditions need to be addressed by dealing with the underlying problem, and this is where an experienced Pain Specialist comes in.
Understanding Your Options
When you have your consultation, which can either be in-person, or on-line, the doctor will look at your medical history, and then ask you a number of questions relating to your pain. If you are at the clinic, he/she will also give you an examination, and may conduct one or more tests. If not, then then an in-clinic appointment will be scheduled for you.
Pain is different for everyone, and to that end, your doctor will explain the likely successful options that are open to you. You will be given a Holistic Personalised Treatment Plan. This may include both conventional and the latest cutting-edge treatments.
Popular Treatments
These include:
• Epidurals
• Facet Joint Injections
• large Joint Injections
• Sacroiliac Injections
• Nerve Blocks
• Intramuscular Injections/Trigger Points
• Radiofrequencc Denervation
• Pulsed Radiofrrequency
Drug Therapy Options
“There is a wide range of medications to relieve pain. Each class and type of drug work differently, while some may be more suitable for certain people than others” [1]
Your Pain Specialist will look at what type of medication is most suitable for you. These could include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), a group of medications which work to reduce pain and inflammation. These can be taken as gels or creams for the skin; tablets, or capsules. And then there are certain antidepressants which have been proved to help ameliorate pain relief. Further, there are beta-blockers. – These are designed to slow the heart down, and stop adrenaline and other hormones. Research shows that: “beta-blockers at low doses can temporarily improve chronic pain in females with fibromyalgia and temporomandibular syndrome” [1]. And lastly, “opioids can treat moderate-to-severe pain, and are generally only appropriate for short periods, as they can be addictive” [1].
Reference
[1]. Zoppi, L. (2020). “13 Ways to Manage Chronic Pain.” Medical News Today.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/pain-management-techniques
