If you have a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, or other problems that affect your back, you might have chronic pain. Similarly, rheumatoid arthritis, pinched nerves, or bursitis can cause you to experience discomfort when you use your joints. At Right Path Pain & Spine Center in Davenport, FL, we can use medications, minimally invasive treatments, and other Pain Management techniques to relieve your discomfort and other symptoms.
What Drugs Are Used for Pain Management?
Pain management is a medical field that focuses on addressing acute and chronic pain. We have extensive experience using drugs and a wide range of other comfortable methods to manage persistent pain. Under some circumstances, we may advise you to take anti-inflammatory drugs, receive cortisone injections, or use other medications to decrease your discomfort and improve your quality of life.
Oral Anti-Inflammatory Medications
If you develop an injury that affects your knees, shoulders, or other joints, we may advise you to treat this problem with anti-inflammatory drugs. For example, if you injure your knee while you are playing sports, we might instruct you to take this type of medication. During this time, you might also be required to rest your joint and put ice onto your injured knee.
Using this technique to treat your joint problems at an early stage can lower your risk of experiencing chronic pain in the future. As your symptoms decrease, we will probably advise you to gradually resume playing sports and doing other physical activities.
Steroids
We can also use an injectable steroid called cortisone to address chronic pain that is associated with knee problems, elbow damage, and other joint issues. During this type of pain treatment, we will inject this substance into your injured area. Cortisone can reduce your symptoms by decreasing the inflammation in this location.
We can also use steroids to address symptoms that are associated with back problems. Receiving an epidural steroid injection can be a good way to relieve leg pain and discomfort that affects your lower back.
Other Treatments
If you are feeling discomfort in your back, knees, or elbows, we may advise you to receive a nerve block. During this minimally invasive treatment, we will gently inject a numbing drug into the area where you are experiencing discomfort. This process can help us find the source of your symptoms and reduce the severity of your chronic pain.
What Medical Conditions Are Associated With Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is a very common problem that affects more than 20% of the adults living in the United States. Although a wide range of medical conditions can cause you to experience chronic pain, this health problem is frequently connected to back issues and joint damage.
Back Issues
Degenerative disc disease is often associated with chronic pain. This problem occurs when the discs in your spine begin to degrade. Over time, these changes can cause you to feel discomfort in your upper thighs, lower back, or other locations. The muscles in your legs could also begin to lose strength.
Similarly, developing a herniated disc can lead to chronic pain. This medical condition occurs when one of the discs between the bones in your spine becomes injured. This development can cause you to experience muscle problems, feel tingling sensations, and have other physical issues.
Joint Conditions
Developing osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis can cause you to experience discomfort when you use the joints in your knees, hips, or other locations. Similarly, you might have joint pain if you have a medical condition called tendonitis. This issue occurs when one of your tendons becomes irritated or inflamed. Playing tennis, golf, and other sports can increase your risk of developing this problem.
Bursitis can also lead to joint problems and chronic pain. Small sacs that are known as bursae help to reduce friction around your joints. Sometimes, inflammation in these sacs will cause your joints to feel stiff and become swollen. Bursitis is most likely to affect the joints in your hips, elbows, or shoulders.
Can I Use Other Comfortable Techniques To Address My Joint Problems?
In addition to providing you with medications, we can use a broad range of non-invasive and minimally invasive treatments to improve your joint issues.
Physical Therapy
If you have joint issues, we instruct you to follow a customized physical therapy program that can enhance your posture, improve your strength, and provide you with other health benefits. For example, we may teach you how to do gentle exercises that can stretch your weakened joint and gradually improve your fitness level. As your joint becomes stronger and more mobile, your pain and other symptoms may decrease.
Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally invasive technique that can be used to address the pain that affects your elbows, knees, or other joints. During this type of Pain Management Treatment, we will use radiofrequency energy to heat up the nerve that is associated with your chronic pain. Preventing this nerve from transmitting pain signals can relieve your symptoms and improve your ability to use your affected joint.
PRP Treatments
PRP treatments are frequently used to manage pain that is associated with osteoarthritis that affects the joints in the knees. During this type of treatment, we will use your blood to create a beneficial fluid called platelet-rich plasma. Injecting this healing substance into your damaged joint may decrease the severity of your pain levels and enhance your ability to walk and do other physical activities.
Can Medical Procedures Help Me Treat My Back Pain?
If you have degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, or other back conditions, we may advise you to decrease your symptoms by getting some sort of back procedure.
Spine Fusion Procedure
Sometimes, we will instruct you to address your back problems by receiving a procedure called a spine fusion. During this pain management technique, we will use sophisticated imaging methods and medical instruments to connect some of the vertebrae in your spine. We will begin this spinal procedure by making very small incisions into your skin. Next, we will use a bone graft to enhance the stability of your spine.
Spinal Cord Stimulator
Receiving a spinal cord stimulator can be an excellent way to address discomfort in your back and legs. We will begin this minimally invasive procedure by putting two very small probes into a specific location in your spine. We will attach these probes to a small device that will transmit electric energy into your spinal cord. This energy can decrease your symptoms by stopping these nerves from continuing to transmit pain signals.
This procedure can improve your ability to perform daily activities and live in an independent manner. Addressing your mobility challenges and discomfort can also enhance the quality of your sleep and allow you to feel more energic during the daytime. As your energy increases, you may be able to begin an exercise program, spend more time with your family members, and do more chores around your home.
Other Back Procedures
If you have a herniated disc, you might need to get a discectomy. During this type of back procedure, we will address your symptoms by taking out the part of your disc that is pressing on your nerves.
Similarly, we can address a spinal fracture during a gentle procedure that is known as kyphoplasty. We will improve your injury by using an inflatable balloon to make a space in your damaged vertebra. After this process is complete, we will put a special type of cement inside this space.
Address Your Chronic Pain
Developing joint problems, back injuries, or other physical conditions can cause you to experience chronic pain that prevents you from exercising, working, and enjoying leisure activities. We can use medications and other comfortable techniques to address your discomfort. If you would like to hear more about our Pain Management Orlando options, you should contact us at Right Path Pain & Spine Center in Davenport, FL.