If you’ve been experiencing constant pain because of a disease or an injury for over 3 months, chances are you’re suffering from chronic pain. When left untreated for long, chronic pain can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life. It can disrupt your sleep, affect your work performance, and can even trigger depression. In fact, according to the U.S Department of Health & Human Services, chronic pain is the most prevalent cause of long-term disability.
Fortunately, there is a range of treatments that can help in treating and controlling chronic pain. They range from simple, exercise-based home therapies to advanced treatment solutions offered by a pain management specialist. In most cases, however, a combination of multiple treatments is required to achieve lasting relief.
If you’ve been suffering from chronic pain, you’re just in the right place. Read on to learn about some effective treatments that can help you combat chronic pain and regain control of your life.
Epidural steroid injections, or ESIs for short, are injections which eradicate pain by working directly at the source in the nerve root and spinal disk. Since they block nerve pain and decrease inflammation, ESIs are often used for treating back and neck pain. ESIs often have a higher efficacy than topical or oral agents because they’re designed to place medications directly at the irritated nerve which is causing the pain.
However, it’s worth noting that while epidurals can certainly eradicate the pain, they do not change the underlying problem. However, the pain relief they provide can last for week and even months at a time, which gives you ample time to recover through physical therapy. ESIs are used to treat:
In many ways, nerve blocks are quite similar to epidurals. Just like epidurals, nerve blocks target a specific area of pain instead of the whole body. They even utilize the same medications that are designed to provide lasting relief. However, there’s a key difference between the two. While ESIs work on the spinal cord, nerve blocks generally stop pain along a single nerve. They can be used to alleviate and control pain in different areas of the body, including:
People who suffer from chronic pain tend to rest more. However, while rest can help in alleviating pain, having a sedentary lifestyle leads to disuse muscle atrophy, which increases the risk of new injuries. You may experience new back pain, ligament strains and muscle soreness if you become active again. Focus on staying active, but within the safety limits suggested by your physical therapist or doctor. Exercising regularly can alleviate chronic pain by:
Some mile exercises that are recommended for chronic pain sufferers include:
PAIN+Recovery are a Chronic Pain Recovery Center NY and New Jersey. We offer our clients treatments for their pain management needs at our clinics in the area. Get in touch with us today for more information on our services or to make an appointment with our specialists for Chronic Pain Treatment New York City.