Chronic pain is an ache that lasts three months or more. It can be present all the time or happen occasionally. Chronic pain can hinder you from performing daily duties and lower your quality of life. It can also lead to depression, anxiety, or insomnia, worsening your pain. Common forms of chronic pain Oradell include arthritis, headaches and muscle, back, neck, cancer, and neurogenic pain. Chronic pain is very common, affecting about twenty-five percent of adults in the United States. Your doctor can treat and manage your chronic pain based on your age, overall health, cause, and type of pain. Below are effective ways to manage chronic pain.
Medications
Your doctor can recommend over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or acetaminophen to ease the pain. You can apply topical products to the skin in the affected part to relieve pain or create soothing heat or cold. Your provider may prescribe anticonvulsants to ease nerve pain. If your chronic pain is causing anxiety or insomnia, your doctor can prescribe a sedative. If other pain medications are not effective, your provider can prescribe opioids. Opioids can be addictive, so you only use them for a short period.
Injections
Epidural steroid injections can alleviate chronic pain caused by spinal nerve root irritation or inflammation. This procedure involves your doctor injecting a corticosteroid, anti-inflammatory medicine into your epidural space. If your muscle knots form when your muscles do not relax, your doctor can suggest trigger point injections. Trigger-point injections may contain a local anesthetic and a steroid. They can help alleviate muscle pain, headaches, fibromyalgia, and myofascial pain syndrome.
Physical therapy
Physical therapy involves various techniques like exercise, massage, and chiropractic care that help reduce pain and improve physical function. Your physical therapist can recommend certain exercises to alleviate pain by improving muscle tone, strength, and flexibility. Chiropractic care relieves pain and corrects body alignment. It involves your chiropractor using their hands to stimulate your joints,
Psychological treatment
Chronic pain can alter your feelings, emotions, and thoughts, leading to depression or anxiety. Severe stress can aggravate your chronic pain. Psychological treatment helps you learn how to cope with issues associated with pain. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you think differently about your chronic pain and teach you how to cope with it. Counseling which mostly involves talk therapy can help manage chronic pain, especially psychogenic pain. Occupational therapy can teach you how to perform daily tasks to reduce pain or avoid injury.
Ketamine infusions
Ketamine infusions offer sedative, analgesic, and amnesic effects. They combat pain by acting against your nervous system’s N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) chemical receptor. Ketamine infusions can relieve chronic pain associated with complex regional pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, headaches, and other neuropathic pain. The infusions can also improve mood and overall functioning. Your doctor can recommend ketamine infusions to relieve chronic pain that does not respond to other treatments, or you have chronic pain and are planning to undergo surgery.
Schedule an appointment at KETA Medical Center for chronic pain treatment to improve your quality of life.
