Advanced Bone & Joint

Understanding Chronic Pain: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Approaches

Pain management near me: Find relief for chronic pain.

Chronic pain is not just a physical discomfort but a debilitating condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It can range from a dull ache to an intense painful sensation and persist for months or even years.

For those who suffer from chronic pain, everyday tasks such as sitting, standing, or walking become difficult and exhausting. Despite its prevalence, chronic pain remains vastly misunderstood.

In this blog, we will discuss chronic pain, exploring its causes, symptoms, and various pain management approaches.

What is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain lasts for more than three months, even after the usual healing time. It can be there all the time or come and go – and it can affect any part of your body. Unlike acute pain, which warns you about an injury or illness, chronic pain sticks around even after the problem is fixed.

Common Causes of Chronic Pain

Here are some common reasons for chronic pain:

Injuries and Surgeries

Past injuries and surgeries are common reasons for chronic pain. Sometimes, even after an injury heals, the pain can continue. Things like broken bones or surgeries can cause long-lasting pain.

Chronic pain from injuries or surgeries can happen to anyone, no matter their age or health.

Medical Conditions

Some medical conditions can cause chronic pain. For example, arthritis causes joint inflammation and pain. Spinal stenosis and herniated disc are also common conditions that cause chronic pain in the back.

Nerve Damage

Nerve damage, also called neuropathy, is another common cause of chronic pain. It can happen because of infections, injuries, or diabetes. Nerve pain feels like sharp, burning, or tingling sensations and can affect daily life.

Symptoms of Chronic Pain

Common symptoms of chronic pain include:

  • Persistent Pain: Pain that lasts for weeks, months, or even years.
  • Aching or Burning Sensation: The pain may feel like a constant ache or a burning sensation.
  • Stiffness: Difficulty moving the affected area.
  • Fatigue: Chronic pain can lead to exhaustion and lack of energy.
  • Sleep Disturbances: Difficulty falling or staying asleep due to pain.
  • Mood Changes: Increased irritability, anxiety, or depression.

Effective Pain Management Strategies

Here are some effective pain management strategies to deal with chronic neck, back, and joint pain.

Nerve Blocks

Nerve blocks involve a pain management doctor injecting a special medicine called an anesthetic near certain nerves in your body. This medicine stops pain signals from traveling to your brain, which can help reduce pain a lot.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation uses tiny electrical pulses to block chronic pain signals. A small device is put under your skin, which sends these electrical pulses to your spinal cord.

This helps stop the chronic pain signals from reaching your brain, making you feel less pain.

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

Peripheral nerve stimulation is a pain management technique that works like spinal cord stimulation but is used for nerves outside the spine, called peripheral nerves.

A small device is placed near one of these peripheral nerves, which sends electrical pulses to stop pain signals from going to your brain.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD Procedure)

The MILD procedure helps treat lumbar spinal stenosis, where your lower spine gets very narrow and painful.

During this procedure, a pain management doctor removes small pieces of bone and tissue from your spine to make more space for your spinal cord and nerves. This helps reduce the chronic pain of the lumber spine.

Intracept

Intracept is a simple procedure that targets a specific nerve in your spine called the basivertebral nerve. This nerve can cause a lot of lower back pain. The procedure helps stop pain signals from this nerve to give you relief.

MinuteMan®

MinuteMan® is a special procedure used to help fuse and stabilize the spine and reduce pain from conditions like spinal stenosis. A small device is placed between the bones in your spine to keep them stable and reduce pain.

Kyphoplasty

Kyphoplasty is used to treat spinal compression fractures, which are breaks in the small bones of your spine. During this minimally invasive pain management procedure, a small balloon is put into the fractured bone to return it to its normal shape.

Then, the pain management doctor injects a special cement to keep it stable and reduce pain.

Radiofrequency Ablation

Radiofrequency ablation is an effective pain management procedure that uses heat from radio waves to destroy the nerve tissues that send pain signals to your brain. This can help reduce certain types of chronic pain for a long time.

Genicular Nerve Ablation

Genicular nerve ablation targets the nerves around your knee. By disrupting these nerves, the procedure can help reduce chronic knee pain, especially if you have conditions like osteoarthritis.

Epidural Steroid Injections

Epidural steroid injection is a common pain management procedure that involves carefully injecting special medicines called corticosteroids into the space around your spinal cord. These injections help with herniated discs and spinal stenosis.

Facet Joint Injections

Facet joint injections are pain management injections given directly into the small joints in your spine called facet joints. The injection contains a mix of an anesthetic and a steroid, which helps reduce inflammation and pain from arthritis or other spine issues.

Sacroiliac Joint Injections

Sacroiliac joint injections are pain management injections that target the joints where your lower spine connects to your pelvis. These injections help reduce inflammation and provide chronic pain relief for conditions affecting these joints.

Pain Management Near Me in St. Peters, Wentzville, & O’Fallon, MO

At Advanced Bone & Joint, we specialize in comprehensive pain management services designed to help you live a more comfortable and fulfilling life. Our team of experienced pain management doctors, orthopedic doctors, and podiatrists is dedicated to providing personalized care tailored to your unique needs.

For more information or to schedule a consultation with one of our providers, call us today at (636) 241-9807 or use our appointment request form. We look forward to serving you!