Finding relief for chronic pain can be difficult and time-consuming, with most patients shuffling back and forth between primary caregivers, specialists, and therapists in efforts to find relief from pain. Fortunately, your interventional pain specialist in Eugene, OR, can help you find relief from chronic pain. Your specialist will recommend a combination of treatments suitable for you. Here are some medical conditions that can benefit from interventional pain management.
Table of Contents
Osteoarthritis
It is a common form of arthritis that occurs when the cartilage covering joints wear down with time. Osteoarthritis can damage the protective cartilage in any joint of your body, but the commonly affected areas include hips, spine, knees, and hands. Symptoms for this form of arthritis include pain, stiffness, tenderness, and limited range of motion in the affected joints. These symptoms worsen as you advance in age due to the progressive deterioration of the cartilage. While the damage to the cartilage cannot be reserved, treatment can help manage the symptoms and improve a patient’s life quality.
Spinal stenosis
The spaces within your spine allow for nerves to travel through. When this space narrows or gets smaller, nerves get pressed or compressed, producing pain and other symptoms such as loss of sensation, tingling, and muscle weakness. The two types of spinal stenosis are classified depending on where the narrowing has occurred along the spine. For instance, a narrowing in the spinal part along the neck is cervical stenosis, while that in the lower back is referred to as lumbar stenosis. A narrowing in the spinal space can occur due to structural changes due to conditions such as osteoarthritis. Other causes can be spinal injuries, tumors, and thickened ligaments.
Herniated disc
The bones making up your spinal cord are cushioned by small round discs supporting the spinal cord and act as shock absorbers. These small discs have a tough outer membrane (annulus). That covers the inner content. Sometimes the annulus can weaken due to degeneration that occurs as you grow older or may be due to excessive strain and injuries. When the membrane weakens, a fragment of the disc nucleus can push out of the annulus into the spinal cord. Because of the limited space in the spinal cord, the bulged disc presses on nerves, producing pain. Symptoms vary depending on which part of the spine is affected.
Migraine
Unlike the usual headache, migraine causes intense pain on one side of the head, which in most cases, is accompanied by other symptoms such as extreme sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and vomiting. Patients with migraine describe the discomfort as a throbbing or pulsing pain that can last for several hours and sometimes days. Because of the severity of the pain, you can be less productive in your usual activities. While the causes of migraines remain unclear, it may be due to triggers such as stress, hormonal change in women before or during menstrual periods, and pregnancy. Other times change in weather can prompt a migraine.
Besides affecting your quality of life, chronic pain can result in mental disorders like depression and anxiety. Reserve a session with your specialist at Pacific Sports and Spine for treatment to enjoy a pain-free life.
Presented by – Orthobiologics Associates