Different Pain Conditions And Effective Pain Management
It is a well-known fact that you can go through many types of pain. Some of the pains are temporary and can be easily treated, but some persist and make life difficult. If you are a victim of some pain that is making your life difficult, you will want to seek pain management options that will help you live a normal life.
Types of Pain
Here is a list of different kinds of pain. They include:
1. Acute Pain
This type of pain is generally for a short duration. Typically, it will last for a few minutes or up to a few months. Sometimes, this may extend to three months in some rare instances. This type of acute pain is associated with a temporary illness or a soft tissue injury and the pain vanishes as soon as the injury is healed or once you recover from an illness. Chances are that if this type of pain does not heal, it may turn into chronic pain. A very common example of such pain is an ankle sprain or scraping your knee or elbows while playing some sports.
2. Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is something that lasts for three or more months and it can be persistent. For example, you can have back pain that keeps coming and going and that can last for years – this is chronic pain. The reasons for chronic pain will vary from person to person – it can be arthritis, fibromyalgia, or some spine condition.
3. Neuropathic Pain
Damage to the nervous system or nerves causes neuropathic pain. This feels like a shooting pain that sometimes feels like burning or stabbing. This type of pain may cause a numbing sensation that will reduce your sensitivity to heat or cold. Neuropathic pain is the commonest of chronic pains and can make routine life unbearable, making daily functionality for simple tasks very difficult. This type of pain can result in intermittent pain, mobility issues, depression, etc. The cause can be the aftereffects of trauma, some injuries that may have not healed properly, lifestyle diseases, or genetic factors like diabetes, thyroid, leukemia, etc.
4. Nociceptive Pain
Nociceptive pain is caused by tissue damage that results in throbbing, achy, and sharp pain. It is typically caused by injuries like twisting of the ankle or toe or hitting your elbow that result in both acute and chronic pain.
5. Radicular or Sciatica Pain
Inflamed or compressed spinal nerves result in radicular or sciatica pain that hurts your back, hip, and legs. This may also cause muscle weakness, tingling, and numbness. This type of pain is steady and chronic and sitting or walking can make it worse.
6. Phantom Pain
This type of pain is generally experienced after an amputation. The patient may feel mild to high degrees of pain, especially while grazing or touching the amputated area. The pain can also be triggered by taking up a certain position.
How to find your pain type?
The best way to figure out your pain type and what type of pain management will work for you, you need to consult a proper Pain Management Specialist who will determine the type of your pain and help you recover quickly. You can visit Dr. Kinjal Sohagia who is a renowned Pain Management and Sports Medicine Specialist at‘Oceanfront Pain Management & Sports Medicine Center’ in Virginia Beach. He is experienced in different types of pain and will ask questions and examine you to understand your pain and find techniques that will help you live a pain-free life.
Treatment Options
When it comes to pain relief for any type of pain, there are many options available. Here are some of the options offered at OPMSM with its state-of-the-art equipment and the latest treatments offered by Dr. Kinjal Sohagia:
• Epidural corticosteroid injection
This injection is injected and will give relief that may last for 3 months to a year. Sometimes it takes a series of injections to achieve significant pain relief. A discussion with the doctor will help you derive the best answers to your problem.
• Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Sohagia is keen on this treatment because these are natural treatments with almost no side effects. You need to discuss the PRP and Stem Cell treatment to understand the advantages and long-term benefits before getting started.
• Facet Joint Injections and Medial Branch block
Both treatments are used to diagnose and treat pain stemming from facet joints. Over time, the pain may subside while some patients may need repeat injections to sustain a relief period.
• RFA – Radiofrequency Ablation
This is a minimally invasive technique to treat chronic knee, back, and neck pain where the nerve fibers carrying pain signals through the spinal cord are disabled.
• Spinal Cord Stimulation
Here, a device is implanted that carries low-level electricity into the spinal cord to relieve pain. This can improve the overall quality of life. It can be used along with other pain management treatments.
• Discogram
A Discogram is an interventional diagnostic imaging test to determine the exact intervertebral disc that is the source of back pain.
• Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
This is a treatment that can improve patient’squality of life by providing non-narcotic analgesia options for patients. With the help of a pain management specialist,this is a successful option for both chronic and acute post-operative pain.
• Sacroiliac Joint Injections
This treatment is done to provide relief from pain and inflammation in the lower back and sciatica pain. If the patient finds relief, this injection can be repeated in conjunction with RFA to return to normal life.
Apart from the above-mentioned treatment options, OPMSM also offers Botox injections, joint injections, neural prolotherapy, or nerve block therapy for effective pain management.
If you suffer from pain, you may request an appointment at OPMSM and the pain specialist, Dr. Kinjal Sohagia who practices in Virginia Beach will help you determine what kind of pain you are suffering from and will give you many chronic pain relief options.