Haven’t Got Time for the Pain?

Pain is the number one reason Americans access the healthcare system. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 60 million adults – 24.3% of the population in the United States- live with chronic pain. 21 million of those people live with high-impact chronic pain or pain that frequently limits life or work. 83% of people with high-impact pain cannot work.

And chronic pain is not just a problem for adults. Chronic pain estimates range from 11% to 38% of children under 18, according to research shared by the National Institute of Health.

Chronic pain and mental health

According to the American Psychological Association, more than 55% of adults with chronic pain struggle with anxiety or depression. Why?

• Chronic pain can be unpredictable creating constant worry about future flare-ups.
• The physical limitations of pain can impact the ability to work, spend time with family and friends or participate in physical activities and hobbies and lead to social isolation.
• Poor sleep from constant pain drains mental energy and resilience.
• Long-term pain alters how nerve cells wire and communicate.
• Ongoing inflammation caused by pain can cause chemical changes in the brain linked to depression.

Treatment and management of chronic pain

While prescription or over-the-counter pain medications may provide temporary relief for some people, treatment options for chronic pain have advanced significantly beyond oral medications. Interventional pain management is generally used when pain is severe enough to interfere with daily activities, and other treatment types have not been successful in reducing pain.

Interventional pain management physicians are specially trained to identify the best treatment option for a patient’s pain. The treatment plan considers the patient’s overall physical health, the cause of the pain, the patient’s goals for pain management and more. A treatment plan developed by an interventional pain management specialist may include:

• Radiofrequency lesioning
• Spinal cord stimulation
• Peripheral nerve blocks
• Trigger point injections
• Selective nerve root injections
• Epidural steroid injections
• Physical and occupational therapy

Managing chronic pain is a group effort. The interventional pain management specialist partners with the patient, the referring physician and other clinical specialists to develop a treatment plan with the goal of enabling the patient to return to a normal routine.