Interventional pain management can best be described as the field of medicine that aims at chronic pain relief by applying invasive techniques. Contradictory to the aforementioned approaches, interventional procedures do not replace therapeutic drugs with other less consistently effective treatments, but rather seek to eliminate pain at its origin and thus provide more sustainable outcomes.
Some of these procedures may include; nerve blocks, injections, spinal cord stimulators, and radiofrequency ablation, all of which are targeted at actively stopping the pain from the starting point before it reaches the brain. Such methods are useful especially in the management of diseases such as back pain, arthritis, migraines, joint problems, where most of the conventional remedies are inadequate.
Because interventional pain management seeks to address the cause of pain rather than only alleviating the symptoms, patients experience not only pain relief but also an enhanced quality of life. This approach provides a good alternative for persons who do not want to go under the knife or who do not wish to be on medications for long periods. Such remedy suits quite well to the particular pain condition of each and every individual and provides an individualised treatment for relief.
What is Interventional Pain Management?
Interventional pain management encompasses the clinical dealing with the assessment and duet management of intractable pain through radical interventions. It does not only use drugs but rather deals directly with the source of the pain using nerve blocks, steroid injections or spinal cord stimulation. Using this method proves useful for arthritis, back pain, migrants and joint pain. Patients undergoing these treatments are relieved from pain for a longer time by eliminating the need of surgeries or high dosage of pain kill medicines enhancing their overall wellbeing.
What are trigger point injections?
Trigger point injections are procedures aimed at treating such tight knots of muscle which are usually associated with specific areas of pain discomfort. Muscles normally have the ability to relax, however constant tension creates various knots within the muscle. Knots can usually be palpitated under the skin and may cause pain in that region or may be able to ‘refer’ pain to other parts of the body.
For this procedure, needle is pushed through the skin and into the trigger point in question and a local anesthetic, saline or corticosteroid is injected. This, therefore, helps to deactivate the local trigger point, relieve pain and bring about relaxation of the muscle. This kind of treatment is commonly used for patients suffering from such issues as myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia or tension headaches.
Interventional Pain Management Procedures
Steroid Injections
Such injections are administered in order to alleviate inflammation and pain in different parts of the body, especially the joints or muscles. Facet joint injection, trigger point injection and epidural steroid injection are some examples of pain management often administered with other treatment for arthritis, nerve and muscle inflammation. Under these treatments steroid administration aids in decreasing inflammation and by doing so helps in pain relief and increasing movements.
Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation (RFA)
In this procedure, radiofrequency energy is used to pinpoint and destroy certain nerve tissues that send pain signals to the brain, thus decreasing pain perception. Because fewer pain signals reach the brain, further discomfort is reduced. RFA is frequently carried out under X-ray supervision for accuracy and is most beneficial in conditions like arthritis or chronic back pain. It may last relief for months or even years depending on the person.
Interventional Pain Management Procedures
Interventional Pain Management Procedures are a collection of methods that have been directed at invasive techniques of treating chronic pain. They focus on the underlying mechanism of pain and hence provide a better option than the conventional pain management which is targeted by drugs and invasive surgical procedures.
Discography
Typically, discography is prescribed to ascertain if one of the spinal discs is the culprit and creating pain. The disc is subjected to imaging, and by the injection of provocation with a contrast agent one ascertains whether the disc is painful or not. This method is quite beneficial to patients in need of surgery because it helps in identifying the problematic disc.
Percutaneous Discectomy/Nucleoplasty
In circumstances of pain arising from a bulge disc or herniated disc, this procedure eliminates tissue from the disc therefore reducing the pressure from nerves. As the pressure from the disc is relieved, so is the pain that would otherwise need to undergo open back surgery. It is an option for individuals yearning for relief from sciatica and back pain.
Pain Pump (Intrathecal Drug Delivery)
A pain pump is a device that is implanted inside the body and releases small amounts of medication to the point of pain at regular intervals. Pain pumps are useful for individuals who are unable to swallow oral medications because they are more effective in delivering localized pain relief with fewer adverse effects than pharmacologic pain relief methods. This technique usually applies to serious health issues particularly non-resolving pain of cancer or acute pain in the nerve.
Nerve, Root, and Medial Branch Blocks
Such injections are intended to momentarily mute the transmission of the pain signals from the affected part to the brain, for instance, the arms and the legs. By using this approach, the patient does not experience pain and the cause of pain can be determined in a procedure that can be used for treatment and also for diagnostic purposes.
Conclusion
Interventional pain management extends beyond the mere alleviation of the chronic pain that patients experience, but seeks to resolve the adverse factor causing the pain. For instance, patients can receive pain relief that lasts longer through procedures such as nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation as well as steroid injections. Such methods are less intrusive and are a satisfactory substitute for prolonged medication and invasive therapies such as surgery. Interventional pain management focuses on the individual pain ailment to the pain chronic pain patients who wish to regain normalcy in their day to day activities thanks to reduction of chronic pain.