Advanced Pain Care offers several different treatment options including:
|
|
 |
X-Ray Guided Precision Nerve Injection
The doctor will use a nerve block to determine which nerve or nerves are the source of your pain. He may inject medication near a specific nerve root or branch. Your response to the injection then tells the doctor whether that particular nerve may be responsible for your pain. A sensible treatment can be started once the diagnosis is made.
Top
|
 Facet Joint Injection
If you experience pain in your back or neck, it may be caused by a problem in the facet joints - the small posterior bony joints of your spinal column. A facet joint injection may help ease your pain. This treatment involves injecting medication into some of your facet joints. This will help the doctor to locate joint problems and may lead to a radiofrequency lesioning so as to give more prolonged relief of your pain.
Top
|
Nucleoplasty
Nucleoplasty is indicated for patients with low back/leg pain due to a damaged disc in the spine. An instrument is passed into the disc and radiofrequency energy is used to create channels within the disc. These channels allow the disc to decompress, reducing symptoms caused by bulging discs.
Top
|
Radiofrequency
Radiofrequency lesioning is a procedure that is both a proven and a safe way to interrupt pain signals. It provides long lasting relief without limiting your day-to-day activities. It works by using radiofrequency energy to heat up a small amount of nerve tissue. Pain signals from a specific area are interrupted. This procedure is frequently used for patients complaining of lower back pain, neck pain, or certain types of headaches.
Top
|
|
 |
Discogram
A discogram is used by the doctor to help locate the source of your pain. The doctor will inject contrast fluid into discs in your spine. Doing this helps the doctor to pinpoint which disc may be the cause of back or leg pain. An image of the damaged disc will help determine which treatment may be best for you.
Top
|
Epidural Steroid Injection
If you experience spine pain due to nerve root problems, then the doctor may recommend an epidural steroid injection for you. He will inject medication near your spine with the aid of an X-ray machine. Sometimes the medicine is injected directly onto the painful nerve root as it passes through the bony canal. The injection not only helps the doctor locate the source of your pain, but will also provide temporary relief of your pain.
Top
|
 Stellate Ganglion Block
A stellate ganglion injection is a diagnostic and therapeutic block. The block will assist the physician in making a diagnosis of your condition. The block can be therapeutic by increasing blood flow to your arm or face and relieving your pain.
Top
|
 Sacroiliac Joint Injection
Low back and leg pain may be caused by a problem in the sacroiliac or "S.I." joint. This is a complex joint located between the tailbone and hip bone. Pain originates from the left or right of the tailbone rather than from the low back. A sacroiliac joint injection may help ease your pain. This treatment involves injecting medication into the joint. This will help the doctor to confirm the problem and may lead to a radiofrequency lesioning so as to give prolonged relief of your pain.
Top
|
Sympathetic Blocks
Sympathetic nerves are found along both sides of the spine. These nerves provide information to the limbs or trunk and sometimes cause pain, swelling, skin, and temperature changes. A sympathetic block is an injection into a select portion of those nerves. Definitive treatment using radiofrequency lesioning of these nerve may produce prolonged relief.
Top
|
 Spinal Cord Stimulator
Spinal cord stimulation performed under X-Ray guidance. A Medtronics or ANS electrode is placed in the epidural space over the spinal cord in such a fashion that a parathesia is generated to cover the area of the patient's pain. This procedure is performed as a test to determine if electrical interruption will significantly reduce the pain. It also allows the patient to experience what a permanently implanted spinal cord stimulator system would feel like. Permanent implantation of this pain control system is performed only after more conservative measures of pain relief have failed.
Top
|
 Medication Management
Many patients can benefit from a program to help manage medications for chronic pain. Anti-depressants, anti-convulsants, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and even opiod medications are sometimes helpful in these conditions.
Top
|
 Intraspinal Drug Delivery Pump
Intraspinal narcotic drug delivery system implantation utilizes a permanently placed spinal catheter connected to a Medtronics programmable and refillable pump. The entire system is completely implanted such that no tubes or wires exit the skin. The implantation of this drug delivery system for pain control is performed only after other appropriate conservative techniques have been tried and failed. It is generally reserved for older patients.
Top
|
Physical Therapy
Many patients can benefit from a formal, supervised physical therapy program or from a supervised home exercise program. Such activity contributes to both physical well-being and to emotional wellness. Both are critical to the successful management of chronic pain.
Top
|
|
 |
TENS/Muscle Stimulator
These devices use electrical energy applied to the skin in order to produce a deep stimulation of the muscle tissue. They are sometimes successful in treating even difficult cases involving significant muscular pain.
Top
|
 Medical Psychology
Many patients can benefit from a formal program of either in-patient or out-patient medical psychology. Chronic pain tends to produce or worsen depression, anxiety or other emotional conditions. A licensed psychotherapist can help patients understand and control the link between these emotions and their pain.
Top
|
Biofeedback and Relaxation Therapy
Many patients can benefit from a formal program of biofeedback and relaxation therapy. These involve training over several sessions to help modulate painful signals from the body. Such training takes time and effort, but can be very rewarding.
Top
|
Percutaneous Discectomy / Intradiscal Electrothermal Annuloplasty (IDET)
These are minimally invasive percutaneous (needle) procedures in which the physician applies controlled levels of energy to the disc, resulting in stiffening of a worn disc or shrinking of a bulging disc. These procedures may be offered as alternatives to spine surgery in select individuals.
Top
|
 Patient Education
Educated patients are the most successful in controlling and managing their pain. Significant efforts are made to teach patients the underlying causes of their painful condition and the reasons that various treatments are employed.
Top
|
