Pain Management

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Treatment Options

  • Acupuncture is a medical practice which involves inserting fine needles into the skin at specific points on the body to relieve chronic pain.
  • Bioelectric treatment involves the administration of a precise dose of bioelectric currents (electroceuticals) through electrodes placed on the skin to cause a biological change and interrupt pain signals. It can treat chronic and acute pain conditions including complex regional pain syndrome, back pain, muscle pain and headaches.
  • Cancer pain treatment is offered at Cleveland Clinic pain management centers using an interdisciplinary pain management program. This comprehensive approach helps alleviate the pain cancer patients often endure.
  • Celiac plexus blocks are performed most commonly for the treatment of upper abdominal pain, which can be due to cancer or chronic pancreatitis.
  • Dietary and nutritional counseling
  • Facet nerve blocks are performed if a doctor suspects that a patient's neck or lower back pain may be caused in part by the small facet joints of the spine. Facet joints are located on the side of a person's spine, away from the spinal cord.
  • Intercostal nerve blocks are injections of a local anesthetic in the area between two ribs. An intercostal nerve block is performed for pain due to herpes zoster (commonly known as shingles), an acute viral infection that causes inflammation of the nerves that spread outward from the spine. It may also be performed for pain caused from surgical incision in the chest area or to help determine the cause of pain as during a diagnostic nerve block.
  • Intradiscal electrothermal therapy is used to treat chronic pain originating from the intervertebral discs. It is a minimally invasive treatment in which a physician applies controlled levels of heat to a broad section of the affected disc wall. The heat contracts and thickens the collagen of the disc wall and raises the temperature of the nerve endings. Therapy may result in contraction or closure of the disc wall fissures, a reduction in the bulge of the inner disc material and a desensitization of the pain sensors within the disc. It is important for a referring physician to diagnose that a disc is a primary source of a patient's back pain. In addition to a clinical examination, a physician may use magnetic resonance imaging, (MRI) or injection of dye in the disc (discography) to confirm the diagnosis.
  • Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure for treating vertebral compression fractures.
  • Lumbar sympathetic blocks are injections of local anesthetic around a group of nerves in a patient's lower back. It may be done if patients have reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), a disease involving a disturbance of circulation to the skin or neuropathic pain, which is pain caused by a disorder of the nervous system.
  • Physical and occupational therapy
  • Psychological counseling
  • Spinal cord stimulation involves implantation of a small device that stimulates the spinal cord to treat pain and improve circulation.
  • Spinal drug delivery systems are computerized pumps that deliver opiates, local anesthetics and other pain medication continuously into the spine to control intractable pain. Also, this infusion system can be used to relieve intractable spasticity secondary to diseases like multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke or spinal cord injuries.
  • Spinal endoscopy utilizes a small fiberoptic scope used to evaluate the spinal nerve roots and administer medications.
  • Stellate ganglion blocks may be performed to decrease pain and increase the circulation and blood supply to an affected limb. A stellate ganglion may be performed for people who have circulation problems or the following nerve injuries: RSD, causalgia, herpes zoster and phantom limb pain.
  • TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) utilizes a small extractable device that delivers electric impulses to nerve endings to stop pain.
  • Therapeutic nerve blocks are local anesthetic injections given near a specific nerve or group of nerves to relieve pain.
  • Trigger point injections involve injections of small amounts of local anesthetics and steroids in the area of the muscle where patients have pain or tenderness. These areas are called trigger points because, when stimulated, they produce pain. Trigger point injections are performed if patients have myofascial pain, which is pain in a specific muscle or muscle group.