Chronic Pain Management

Chronic pain is a serious medical condition that affects an estimated 70 million people in the US, causing significant economic and personal losses, including costly medical expenses, lost income and productivity, lost mobility, anxiety or depression. Chronic pain is a separate and much more complex condition than acute pain, involving pain that persists for many months or years, beyond the normal course required by healing of an injury.

The specific cause of chronic pain is not always known, although it is often linked to past traumatic injuries, congenital conditions, arthritis and other factors. For most patients, the source of chronic pain is very complex, making it difficult to treat and requiring a combination of different approaches in order to help the patient reach their highest level of function and comfort.

At SHARP Treatment of South Bay, we understand the impact that chronic pain can have on a patient’s life and do our best to relieve pain through a series of effective treatment options. We have a state-of-the-art outpatient treatment center designed to perform the most effective, comfortable and convenient treatments for pain management.

While there is no cure for chronic pain, there are several treatment options available to help manage symptoms and allow patients to function at their highest level. Effective pain relief is usually done by combining

Sonny Rubin, M.D., QME Board Certified Pain Management

 

different treatment options and creating a customized treatment plan for each individual patient to help reduce their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Some of the treatment options commonly used for chronic pain management include:

Facet Injections

A facet injection is a minimally invasive treatment option for back pain caused by inflamed facet joints. Facet joint pain is often related to spinal stenosis, sciatica or arthritis, and is characterized by neck, arm, low back or leg pain. Each vertebra has four facet joints that connect it to the vertebra above and below. This injection may also be used as a diagnostic test to determine if facet joint inflammation is the source of a patient’s pain.

The facet joint injection is comprised of a combination of a long-lasting steroid and a local anesthetic, which is injected either directly into the joint capsule or into its surrounding tissue. The steroid reduces inflammation and can relieve pain for a few days to a few years. This procedure can be repeated up to three times a year for those who experienced successful but short-term pain relief from this treatment.

Epidural Injections

An epidural injection is an injection of medication into the epidural space to temporarily relieve low back and leg pain, and may also be effective in relieving cervical and thoracic pain. This treatment is most effective for treating swelling, pain and inflammation caused by conditions such as:

• Lumbar disc herniation
• Degenerative disc disease
• Lumbar spinal stenosis
• Vertebral compression fractures
• Facet joint or nerve root cysts
• Annular tear

Epidural injections are comprised of cortisone and a local anesthetic or saline solution. These injections work by reducing inflammation and flushing out the particles that cause swelling and pain. Medication is delivered directly to the source of the pain, rather than dispersing it throughout the body as oral painkillers and steroids do.

This form of treatment can be used alone to provide pain relief or as part of a customized rehabilitation program to help the patient perform his/her exercises with less discomfort. Relief from a single injection typically lasts from one week up to one year, depending on the patient’s individual condition.

Trigger Point Injections

Trigger point injections are an effective treatment option for pain in areas containing trigger points, or knots of muscle that form when muscles do not relax. These points can also irritate nerves around them, causing pain in other areas of the body. A needle containing a local anesthetic, and sometimes a steroid as well, is inserted into the trigger point to make it inactive and relieve pain.

The injection procedure takes just a few minutes to administer and is considered safe for most patients, with only minimal side effects. Aside from relieving pain, trigger point injections also loosen the muscles that cause the pain, helping with the rehabilitation process.

Sarapin Treatment

Sarapin is a natural solution extracted from Sarraceniaceae, a pitcher plant, and used as an alternative to steroids or cortisone injections for the treatment of chronic pain. This alternative offers patients effective relief from pain, swelling and inflammation caused by certain orthopedic conditions, while eliminating the side effects often caused by other types of injections. 

As a natural substance, Sarapin is non-toxic and does not accumulate within the body and does not damage or weaken cartilage bones or tendons.  It can be injected nearly anywhere in the body and is commonly used to treat sciatic pain, inercostal neuralgia and alcoholic neuritis.

This treatment is administered several times over the course of four to 12 weeks.  To maximize results, Sarapin injections may be combined with other alternative treatment methods such as physical therapy and chiropractic care.  Sarapin injections have been used for many decades as a natural alternative to the sometimes toxic injections commonly used to relieve pain.  It is effective for many patients in treating chronic pain and allowing patients to return to their regular activities.

Click here to learn more about Sarapin

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