Q: What type of patient will benefit from interventional pain management?
A: Individuals with chronic pain (pain lasting three months or more, which might have otherwise resolved, based on the associated cause), who have conditions such as back pain, neck pain, joint pain, nerve pain, can benefit. Interventional pain management addresses the pain generator through procedures intended to remedy the cause of the pain, not just to address the symptoms. Patents who haven’t found pain relief from conservative treatments, such as physical therapy, medication or even surgical procedures, may find this approach very helpful.
Q: How does interventional pain management differ from traditional pain management?
A: Traditional pain management relies heavily on pharmaceutical and physical therapies to address pain, often only treating symptoms. Interventional pain management uses procedures such as steroid epidural injections, specific nerve blocks, and implantable neuromodulation devices, such as a spinal cord stimulator, to target and treat pain directly at its source.
Q: What can I do to get the best results from my treatment?
A:
- Carefully Follow My Instructions – The guidelines I provide, regarding post-procedure care, activity restrictions, medications, and follow-up appointments are all given in order to help you achieve the best outcome from your treatment. Scientific evidence shows a majority of patients will see at least some improvement when they follow proven clinical recommendations for pain reduction.
- Do Your Best to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: I have patients who think that having chronic pain gives them a license to smoke tobacco and marijuana, drink alcohol to excess and engage in other unhealthy behaviors. They believe because they suffer with pain, they have a “right” to indulge in these harmful choices. Unfortunately, these choices often end up making their pain worse – for example, smoking anything has been shown to increase long-term pain levels of all kinds in multiple research studies. Use some common sense. Engage in regular, gentle physical activity, eat a balanced diet (try to follow the 80% healthy/20% not-so-healthy rule with your food choices), and avoid smoking and drinking in excess.
- Communicate with me: Keep me informed, by phone or in person, about your pain levels, any changes in your condition, and any side-effects you might have from medications. That’s why I recommend keeping a pain journal to track all of the above. It can be a simple notebook you keep for jotting down questions, noting how you feel – good or bad, and anything else you want me to know. Bring it with you to your appointments and we can review it together.
- Adhere to Follow-Up Care: You’ll hear me say this more than once, because it matters: attend your scheduled appointments and follow my recommended treatments for the best results. I can’t help your pain if you don’t show up for appointments, don’t follow my instructions and don’t communicate with me. It’s that simple.