Pain medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that aims to help those living with chronic pain find relief and continue to enjoy life. There are many different health practitioners who may be involved in a pain management team, including doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists, nurses, and more. At the Right Path Pain and Spine Centers in Davenport, FL, we can create a Pain Management Treatment plan that fits into your life, and helps you keep enjoying it to the fullest!
Why Have I Been Sent to Pain Management?
You may be referred to a pain management team if your doctor believes that we can help improve your quality of life. Anyone with chronic pain can benefit from visiting a pain management team to learn about options for improving the way they experience the world every day.
Your doctor may refer you to us if the pain is causing you to have:
- Distress and suffering
- Difficulty sleeping
- Difficulty healing
- Difficulty engaging in activities
- Increases in heart rate and blood pressure
- Lowered quality of life
Banishing Pain With Regenerative Medicine
This branch of medicine focuses on using the body’s own natural processes to heal and regenerate. This can involve growing new healthy cells and tissues in order to return to a well-functioning state.
Some of the methods of regenerative medicine are able to provide long-term relief to those suffering from chronic pain. In the case of injury-related pain, the healing power of stem cells and platelet-rich plasma can drastically speed up your recovery time and provide relief.
Repairing the Body with Stem Cells
Stem cell therapy is an incredible method that can actually reverse the effects of age, disease, and injuries. Stem cells exist naturally in our bodies and are important in the body’s normal and healthy functioning. By co-opting their natural abilities, we can use these cells to rebuild and restore other damaged tissues and even organs in the body.
Stem cells are found in our tissues and organs, as well as our bone marrow and fat. They are a major player in the creation of body organs and tissues in growing embryos. As we age, they continue to be an important part of the constant process of decay and renewal in our bodies, repairing the damage done by age, stress, and toxic environmental elements.
Your doctor may refer you to us if you have:
- Injured your spinal cord
- Chronic constriction injury (CCI)
- Diabetic peripheral neuropathy
- Intervertebral disc disease
- Intractable musculoskeletal pain
How Does Stem Cell Therapy Work?
The way that stem cells are used in pain management is quite remarkable. A patient’s own stem cells are collected and applied to the area causing the pain. These stem cells then work to rebuild and repair the damaged area. They can regenerate many parts of the body, including cartilage, tendons, bones, and ligaments.
For example, in cases of osteoarthritis, the cartilage covering a joint surface has degraded and become inflamed. Applying stem cells to the area actively regenerates and rebuilds the damaged cartilage, effectively reversing the effects of arthritis.
Stem cell therapy takes from two-four hours and does not require an incision or stitches. It is a simple and quick outpatient process with a very quick recovery time. To give you the best results, this therapy may be combined with our platelet-rich plasma therapy treatment. We use the Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC) therapy to treat:
- Bulging discs
- Ligament injuries or tears
- Lumbar degenerative disc disease
- Chronic lung disease
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteoarthritis of major and minor joints, including knees and shoulders
- Neurologic degenerative diseases (i.e. multiple sclerosis or nerve injury)
Healing With Platelet-Rich Plasma
Another regenerative method of managing pain is to use platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. Platelets help to signal the repair and regeneration functions of the body where they are applied. One way in which they do this is to attract stem cells to the area needing assistance.
We piggyback on this natural healing process by extracting extra platelets from your own blood and sending them in as backup for the platelets already working to heal a certain area.
Managing Pain With Injections
There are several Types of Pain Management that can be used to help you find relief from chronic pain. These can be incredibly effective even in the most extreme cases. Your doctor will likely refer you to us if you experience severe and/or chronic pain.
Muscle and Joint Pain
If you are experiencing muscle pain in your neck, back, legs, or arms, we may recommend using trigger point injection treatment. This treatment is also effective against fibromyalgia, myofascial syndrome, and tension headaches. This treatment is a fantastic option because just a short time in the doctor’s office can give you months of relief from chronic pain. We locate the pain source, or trigger point, and administer the analgesic or steroid directly to it.
We may use an epidural or joint steroid injection, depending on your needs. An epidural injection administers the steroid straight to the spine, while the joint injection administers the steroid to an inflamed joint. Joint pain usually involves the use of cortisol to calm an inflamed and swollen area.
You may be sent to us by your doctor if you have any of the following:
- Pinched nerve
- Bursitis
- Tendonitis
- Joint Injury
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
Nerve Blocking
Injections of a nerve-blocking substance into a painful area can help to bring you relief by disrupting the nervous system’s communication with the brain. Pain cannot be experienced if the brain does not receive the appropriate nerve signals. We “block” the nerves causing pain from talking with your brain.
Your doctor may send you to us for nerve blocking treatment for:
- Neck, back, and spine injuries
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Tendonitis
- Osteoarthritis
- Tennis elbow
- ACL injuries
- Sprains
- Rotator cuff tears
- Plantar fasciitis
Managing Pain With Bioelectric Therapy
Spinal Cord Stimulator
This therapy involves electrodes stimulating an area by delivering a low-voltage current near the source of your pain. This scrambles the messages that the nerves are able to send to your brain, which is the cause of your pain. In this way, it acts similarly to a nerve blocker but using very low amounts of electricity instead of injections.
Managing Pain With Medications
While we believe in finding minimally invasive treatments that do not require the use of pain medications, sometimes medication is helpful or necessary. Especially when the pain is minor and the corresponding drug treatment safe and temporary. We always want to find a safe long-term solution to bring you back to health and happiness.
Over-the-Counter
Medications such as NSAIDS are over-the-counter pain management options that can help to treat milder cases of discomfort. These drugs include ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. If you cannot take NSAIDS for any reason, alternatives such as acetaminophen are just as effective. These drugs are especially used if the pain is related to muscle aches.
NSAIDs will not only relieve pain but so to the source of the problem and work to reduce swelling and irritation. This is useful for pain caused by sore muscles or arthritic inflammation. A topical pain reliever applied to the skin at the site of the pain is another effective treatment for such cases. These topical treatments may be in the form of a lotion, cream, or spray.
Prescriptions
A prescription drug may be necessary if over-the-counter medications are not sufficient to relieve your distress. Again depending on the source of the problem, you may be prescribed a muscle relaxant, medication for musculoskeletal pain, acetaminophen If necessary, your doctor may prescribe the short and temporary use of stronger medications like codeine or fentanyl. We will only suggest these for short use, and only if there is no better option.
Live Your Life Pain-Free
You deserve to live your life free of pain and full of joy. Pain robs you sleep, independence, and mobility. With our help, you can put the pain behind you and get back to doing the things you love. Schedule your consultation today at Right Path Pain and Spine Centers in Davenport, FL.
