Pain management is the act of treating pain in an effort to prevent it from occurring in the first place. It is a complex issue, requiring a variety of different techniques, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. Your trusted Houston pain clinics have several pain management strategies that can reduce or treat chronic pain that has not responded to other treatments.
Why is pain management important?
Pain management is an important aspect of health care because it prevents patients from suffering unnecessary Pain Management Miami Beach while in the hospital. If a patient has a painful procedure or surgery, it can be difficult for them to tolerate. It may increase their risk of developing postoperative complications like infection or deep vein thrombosis (DVT), increasing their risk of death.
Pain management strategies
Physical therapy: This type of treatment seeks to restore function to injured areas of the body. This can include stretching, strengthening, and posture correction. Physical therapy can help people with chronic pain, which is long-term pain that does not go away.
Physical therapy aims to increase mobility, stability, strength, and endurance so patients can function better at home or in their daily activities. These improvements help reduce pain levels and return patients to their normal activities more quickly than they would if they were not receiving treatment.
Drug therapy: Drug therapy is the most common treatment of pain. When a drug is taken orally, it travels through the bloodstream to reach the brain and spinal cord. In this way, drugs can act locally on nerve endings in the area where they are applied or systematically throughout the body. The most commonly used drugs for pain include relief patches for pain, acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin (ASA), NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium (Aleve), and muscle relaxants such as methocarbamol (Robaxin)..
Drugs that reach the brain by oral administration can produce either direct or indirect effects on pain. Direct effects act directly on nerves in the area of the drug application, whereas indirect effects occur when other substances are involved in transporting drugs across tissues to reach nerve endings.
Surgery: Surgery is the most prevalent and definitive method of treating pain. However, it is also the most invasive and risky form of treatment. When surgery is needed, there are several things to keep in mind:
The type of surgery will depend on the specific cause and location of the pain. For example, if a nerve root is damaged, it may be necessary to address that problem with surgical repair. If an inflamed tendon or joint is causing pain, more conservative measures like physical therapy might be more appropriate.
If you have multiple problems with your back or neck, see a surgeon who is skilled in treating all these conditions, including spinal stenosis and spinal column narrowing.
In general, non-surgical treatments for lower back pain should be tried before considering surgery or other invasive procedures such as injections or epidural steroid injections.
Pain management is a process that involves assessing the severity of pain, identifying the cause of your pain, and developing a treatment plan to manage your pain. You should start by objectively assessing your condition by getting all the details of your problem. Also, ensure you understand how your body works and what pain feels like. This will help you to know what level of pain makes it hard for you to function normally and whether or not it is related to an injury or other condition. If you want to learn more about pain and pain management, contact Hui Kang, MD, today!