Chronic Back Pain
– Back Pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical
attention. Most often it is the result of an acute injury and
resolves with days to weeks. However, when pain last longer
than 6 to 8 weeks it is often due to damage in the spinal column
such as a disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, compression
fractures, spinal stenosis or a combination of several of
these. Often times these conditions can cause radiation of pain
from the back into the arms and legs. This pain is referred to as
radicular pain and is due to nerve impingement in the spinal column.
Fibromyalgia
– Chronic widespread muscle pain may be fibromyalgia. The pain
associated with this debilitating disease often causes pain in the
shoulders, neck, hips, arms, and legs. It is thought that the
pain of fibromyalgia can be caused by previous infections or
injury. However, the exact cause is often not known. The
pain is the result of damaged nerves that misfire. Often times
patients also experience extreme fatigue and difficulty sleeping.
Diabetic Neuropathy
– Diabetic patients can often experience pain in their
extremities. This pain is the result of long term deterioration
and damage to nerves called neuropathy.
Shingles and Post Herpetic Neuralgia
– Most people have had the chicken pocks at one point in their
life. The illness is caused by a strain of the herpes virus and
once it is contracted the virus remains in the body long after the
initial symptoms subside. Years later a painful pattern of
blisters can develop called shingles. Shingles usually lasts
weeks to months but it can be followed by nerve pain in the areas where
it presented that can often times last months to years. This is
referred to as post herpetic neuralgia.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- RSD is a condition where a high number of nerve impulses are sent to
a particular area, usually an arm or leg. This results because of
a dysfunction of the central nervous system and/or peripheral nervous
system. It is also believed that the cells in the area affected
become receptive to catecholamines (chemical messengers) which produce
symptoms of pain, temperature changes, redness, swelling, and weakness.
Chronic headaches
– There are many different causes and types of headaches.
Tension, cluster, and migraine to name just a few. Headaches can
be difficult to treat. New applications in interventional pain
management are giving new hope to those suffering with chronic
headaches.
Cancer Pain
– Pain related to cancer can be some of the most intense and
excruciating pain. The pain can originate from a tumor pressing
on a nerve or from cancer spreading to the bones. Pain related to
cancer is typically treated with pain medications as opposed to
interventional pain management.
Osteoarthritis (OA)
– One of the most common types of pain that most people experience to
some extent is osteoarthritis. The older we get the more like it
is that OA will affect us. It can affect any joint in the body
including knees, hips, hands, and even the back.
Myofascial Pain –
Pain originating from tightened bands of muscles, most commonly
affecting the neck and back. These areas are usually painful to touch.
