Interventional Chronic Pain Management Options

13 Aug Interventional Chronic Pain Management Options

Chronic pain patients often find it challenging to find a treatment option that can relieve their pain and other symptoms. Fortunately, interventional pain management can offer you safe and drug-free solutions for managing different types of chronic pain.

Interventional pain management includes a variety of minimally invasive techniques to address the root cause of pain and alleviate pain effectively without drugs or surgery. Your pain management doctor may recommend the use of one of these techniques alone, or in combination with other options to deliver the best results.

Here are some interventional pain management options chronic pain patients may benefit from.

SCS (Spinal Cord Stimulation)

SCS is beneficial in treating patients who have not found any relief with medication and surgery. A spinal cord stimulator is a device that is connected to electrodes, which are implanted in the spine. The procedure takes about an hour. Once the trail treatment shows promising results, the permanent device is implanted which can provide relief for several years.

Patients with the following conditions may obtain pain relief with SCS –

• FBSS (failed back surgery syndrome)
• CRPS – complex regional pain syndrome
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Causalgia
• Arachnoiditis
• Peripheral ischemic pain

RFA (Radiofrequency Ablation)

Radiofrequency Ablation has been found extremely beneficial in patients with the following conditions:

• Facet joint arthritis
• Lower back pain
• Lumbar radiculopathy
• Chronic cervical pain
• Cervical radiculopathy

During the procedure, current from radio waves is used to heat a small area of nerve tissue in the target area of the body. This disrupts the pain signals that run from that nerve to the brain, alleviating pain.

Pain relief from RFA may last for up to 12 months after treatment.

ESI (Epidural Steroid Injections)

Epidural steroid injections are used in cases of chronic back pain and injuries of the spinal cord but it can also help patients with leg, neck, or arm pain. This is a minimally-invasive procedure in which an injection of steroid medicine and an anesthetic is directly injected into the targeted area.

These injections can reduce inflammation and pain in conditions such as osteoarthritis, neurological conditions like sciatica or degenerative disc disease.