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What Treatments Do Pain Clinics Offer?

Pain clinics are medical treatment centers that primarily focus on the treatment of pain and management of pain symptoms. Although back pain is one of the most significant types treated at many pain clinics, they also treat a wide variety of other types of significant pain. These include nerve, joint and muscle pain. Treatments include medication, exercise and physical manipulation, pain-blocking methods, the use of TENS units and surgery.

  1. Medications

    • According to The Pain Clinic (painclinic.org) run by Dr. Richard Walker, there are several types of medications for chronic and acute pain. Typical drugs include anti-seizure medications (such as Neurontin, Lyrica, Tegretol), opiates (including morphine, Percocet) and antidepressants (Cymbalta and Pamalar, for instance). Opiates are available in severe cases in lollipop form and through an implanted infusion pump. Pain medications are highly monitored for addiction and misuse.

    Exercise/Physical Manipulation

    • One of the best approaches by many pain clinics is the strengthening of muscles through guided exercise and physical manipulation, according to The Pain Clinic. These methods are excellent for addressing simple spine pain, which includes muscle strain, muscle weakness, sprains and overextensions. Use of exercise balls, stretchy Thera-band equipment and yoga can help strengthen back muscles. Physical manipulation is done gently to lengthen and stretch back muscles to alleviate pain.

    Pain Blocking

    • Several pain-blocking injection methods are available at pain clinics. The Pain Clinic describes nerve-root blocks, peripheral-nerve blocks and sympathetic-pain blocks. A needle is placed at the nerve site where the pain is felt, and is heated to block the pain. Although the needle is not heated enough to cause damage to the nerve, it stops the pain for a significant period of time. However, pain blocking requires periodic repetition.

    TENS Units

    • TENS stands for "transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation." TENS units are extremely helpful in stimulating nerves to the point where nerve pain is blocked or stopped from traveling forward through the central nervous system. A TENS unit is composed of pads that are placed at the pain site, electrical leads bretween the pads and the unit, and a box that produces low-level electrical current, the Pain Clinic explains. The pads contain conductive gel. The unit is turned on for short periods of time and can be repeated daily if needed.

    Surgery

    • Surgery, the most invasive procedure for pain relief, is performed for spine or back pain. There are several types of spinal surgery, depending on the level of back injury and the severity of pain, according to The Pain Clinic. Spinal microdiskectomy makes a small window to remove a portion of a damaged or bulging spinal disc. This method is good for small disc bulges, but not for larger, more significant disc problems. Laminectomy is a procedure that requires removal or trimming of the affected vertebrae. In spinal fusion, the affected vertebrae are stabilized by fusing them with the vertebrae immediately adjacent. Surgical procedures are usually done in a hospital and require an overnight stay for observation.

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