Get Your Life Back: 5 Breakthrough Treatments for Chronic Pain Relief

Chronic pain is long-term, constant or intermittent pain that doesn’t respond to rest, time, or conservative care. It may affect your ability to function, your mobility, and even your sleep. 

Effective pain management depends on identifying the underlying causes of your condition and treating those whenever possible, while also managing your symptoms. Dr. Adam Shestack and Dr. Cy Blanco of Florida Pain Management Institute in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, Florida, rely on cutting-edge medical technology to make the difference. 

Let’s look at five breakthrough treatments that tip the balance away from the daily use of pain medication to mask your symptoms. Drug-based pain management is ideally a short-term solution, due to the side effects and risks of dependence. These treatment strategies approach your pain from different angles. 

Radiofrequency ablation

The energy carried by radio waves is already part of everyday life, from broadcast radio to cell phone signals and even microwave ovens. RF energy, at the right wavelengths and intensities, can warm selected body tissue. 

That’s the basis behind radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Controlled heat applied to targeted nerves disrupts the pain signals they generate. Applied to chronic pain in the back, neck, or various joints, RFA provides long-lasting relief from pain caused by target nerves in a minimally invasive outpatient procedure. 

Epidural steroid injections

Corticosteroids are powerful anti-inflammatories that can control tissue swelling for months. Conditions like herniated discs and spinal stenosis often involve inflamed tissue pressing on and irritating nerve roots. 

By injecting steroids into the epidural space of the spine, these injections reduce swelling in surrounding tissue, relieving pressure on nerves and making them an important part of a comprehensive pain management plan. 

Nerve root blocks

Idiopathic nerve pain can be difficult to treat, since there may be no identifiable physical cause of the pain in the nerve tissue. Targeting the affected nerve root where it branches from the spinal cord can reduce inflammation and pain caused by conditions such as herniated discs, foraminal stenosis (narrowing), or radiculopathy. 

Nerve blocks can also provide important diagnostic confirmation, identifying where pain is active in your body, potentially guiding future treatment. 

Spinal cord stimulation

Since nerves work by generating tiny electrical signals, we can use artificial electrical signals to disrupt transmission. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an implanted device that essentially scrambles the pain signal, reducing or eliminating the pain you feel. SCS may be tested with nerve root blocks or temporary implants to ensure you’ll benefit from the procedure. 

Ketamine infusions

For certain patients with hard-to-treat chronic or neuropathic pain, infusing low-dose ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, may dull the noise of your pain sensations. Ketamine works by influencing the activity of pain receptors in the brain, masking pain that doesn’t respond to other treatments. 

Chronic pain can have a wide range of sources and influences in your body, so personalized pain management is the best way to handle any plan to control its effects. Find out more about the process by contacting the nearest Florida Pain Management Institute location. Call or click to schedule your visit today.