Pain management is a necessary process for anyone who has been injured or is otherwise in chronic pain.
Complete Injury Management helps people manage their pain and recover from their injuries as quickly as possible. There are many different pain management treatments, including medication, injections, and therapy, which can ease your suffering and improve your quality of life.
Medication for Pain Management
Pain medication is the most common type of pain management and is given to most patients suffering from pain – typically in conjunction with other techniques. The most common pain medication type is NSAIDs, or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen. NSAIDs work well for minor pain. However, for more severe pain, opioids can be prescribed.
Opioids include drugs such as morphine and are effective for severe pain. However, due to their side-effects and high potential for drug abuse, it’s rare for opioids to be prescribed for more than a few weeks unless a patient is experiencing chronic severe pain. For specific conditions, including metastatic bone pain, neuropathic pain, and visceral pain, steroids may be used temporarily as a form of therapy to help the patient recover.
Injections for Pain Management
Therapeutic injections are commonly used for patients suffering from severe pain. There are many types of pain management injections, including epidurals, nerve blocks, and joint injections, and they can be used in conjunction with medication or physical therapy.
Although most commonly used during childbirth, epidurals can also be administered when a patient is suffering from severe pain after surgery, a traumatic injury, or to inject steroids. Typically the drugs are injected through a catheter inserted into the epidural space in the spine. It can remove the sensation of pain by blocking nerve fiber signals in the spinal cord.
Nerve blocks are used when a patient is suffering from acute pain in a specific area of the body. This method blocks the nerves in that organ or region from sending pain signals to the brain. Nerve blocks can also be used to diagnose the source of pain or predict the outcomes of a given treatment, such as surgery. Similarly, joint injections can be used to numb the pain from a specific joint in the body. This procedure can be used to manage chronic pain or to diagnose whether the joint is the pain source.
Therapy for Pain Management
Pain management therapy is used for most patients suffering from chronic pain. It has been shown to be effective without the potential risk of side-effects or addiction inherent in medication. The most common type of therapy is physical therapy, but cognitive therapy and meditation are becoming more popular treatment options as well.
Also known as physiotherapy, physical therapy can relieve pain, increase recovery speed, and restore function to the patient. This treatment can include heat and ice packs, ultrasounds, stretching, strengthening exercises, and low-impact aerobic conditioning. Typically a physical therapist will go through several physical activities with the patient and then recommend they continue them independently at home.
Stress and pain are closely related. Chronic pain can cause a great deal of stress, but stress can also intensify the feeling of pain. Meditation is a common therapeutic treatment for chronic pain as it can quiet the patient’s mind and relax their body. This practice typically involves focusing the mind on a single idea, your thoughts, or sensations. Patients who practice meditation regularly experience less stress and have an increased tolerance for pain.
If you’re experiencing mild or severe pain and could benefit from pain management treatments, please contact Complete Injury Management by visiting our contact page. We help people get the treatment they need to recover and feel better.