WILLOWBROOK
Chiropractor & physical therapy
HOMER GLEN
CHIROPRACTOR & PHYSICAL THERAPY
NAPERVILLE
CHIROPRACTOR & PHYSICAL THERAPY
CREST HILL
CHIROPRACTOR & PHYSICAL THERAPY
MRI CENTER
same day imaging, Crest hill, il
AURORA
CHIROPRACTOR & PHYSICAL THERAPY
What Is Pain Management And What Are The Procedures
Chronic pain interferes with daily activities like shopping, cooking, driving, and typing. Many people with persistent pain struggle to concentrate during the day and get enough sleep at night. Moreover, long-lasting pain can affect your social life and reduce your enjoyment of life. As such, finding relief from chronic pain is essential to enhance your quality of life.
What Is Pain Management?
Pain management is a healthcare discipline involved in preventing, diagnosing, and treating pain. Pain management specialists draw on science and alternative healing research to identify the source of pain and reduce discomfort. Your provider may recommend one approach, like medications, therapy, exercises, surgery, or a combination of approaches.
Pain treatment is complex and can result in severe consequences if not correctly administered. As such, avoid treating pain yourself and consult a pain management specialist. Pain management should also be personalized as people experience and react to pain differently.
Who Needs Pain Management?
Anyone with acute, mild, soft tissue or any other kind of pain needs pain management. Acute pain lingers for a short time and occurs after a fall, accident, cut, burn, labor, or surgery.
On the other hand, chronic pain persists on most days and lasts for over six months. This pain arises from arthritis, cancer, fibromyalgia, musculoskeletal issues, and other long-lasting illnesses. You also need pain management for autoimmune disorders, nerve damage, endometriosis, headaches, and back injuries.
Pain Management Methods
Healthcare providers use different methods to treat acute and chronic pain. Your provider will ask about your pain level, how the pain affects your daily life, and your medical history to recommend an effective treatment. You may need to describe any pain treatments you had in the past and how well they worked. Your options include:
Hot and cold compresses are popular home remedies for pain because they provide instant relief. Cold compresses slow blood flow and works for swelling pain after a muscle sprain or bruise.
Hot compresses stimulate blood circulation and healing and improve stiffness and muscle spasms. Breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation at home help you rest easier and improve mobility.
Many people will use prescription or over-the-counter pain medication at some point in their lives. Paracetamol and aspirin are popular medicines for short-term pain, such as headaches and period pain.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen reduce the production of prostaglandins, which cause pain and inflammation. However, taking NSAIDs regularly at high doses increases the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and stomach ulcers.
Healthcare providers also caution people against the long-term use of pain-relieving opioids to avoid dependence. Antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and muscle relaxants also help with pain relief.
Physical therapy is an excellent intervention for chronic pain because it treats the source of your discomfort. Therapists use strengthening exercises, stretching, massage, and other techniques to promote healing in injured tissue, ease stress on injured bones and muscles, and reduce pain.
Chiropractic care is a hands-on treatment that treats the source of pain. Chiropractors focus on the spine's alignment and use spinal manipulations to realign joints restricted by tissue injury. Chiropractic care is particularly effective for back pain, neck pain, migraines, sciatica, and fibromyalgia.
Epidural steroid injections are non-surgical treatments for pain. Your physician injects the steroid into the epidural area, which covers the spinal cord and prevents damage. The injections are effective for inflamed spinal nerves caused by herniated disks, slipped vertebrae, joint cysts, and other conditions.
How Advanced Physicians Can Help with Pain
Pain management treatments vary by effectiveness and risks, and the best method is personalized for you. At Advanced Physicians, we use a combination of techniques to identify the source of pain and relieve your discomfort.
If you want a natural approach to pain relief, consider chiropractic care, massage, and physical therapy, which also restore mobility and reduce joint stiffness. Our epidural steroid injections are done under Fluoroscopy to ensure that our specialists inject the medication in the right area. Contact us today for long-lasting relief from acute and chronic pain.
