Everyone will experience pain at some point in their lives. Acute pain can be caused by an illness, an injury, or a surgical procedure. But this pain will naturally resolve as the body heals. However, the pain may linger and fail to resolve naturally, and instead, become a constant part of daily life. This is what is referred to as chronic pain.
Chronic pain can result in both physical and psychological distress, and it can be quite disconcerting when there is no apparent cause and no immediate remedy. No matter the cause, chronic pain often leads to decreased daily function along with psychological suffering with issues such as anxiety, depression, and anger. In some cases, chronic pain can cause a person to halt their enjoyable activities, and even reduce their social interactions due to the lack of mobility and/or motivation.
At Carolina Spine & Pain, we offer pain management services to help reduce and/or alleviate chronic pain through relevant and consistent treatment and intervention. Our Greenville, SC pain management team is committed to helping patients identify the root cause of their pain and the most effective treatment options for the same.
Call 864-535-0144 today to learn more about our options for the treatment of chronic conditions in Greenville, SC.
What Are Chronic Conditions?
A chronic condition requires ongoing monitoring and treatment, or simply put, one with no apparent cure. Many patients suffering from chronic illnesses usually have multiple conditions.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than three months. The pain could be present all the time, or it might come and go. It can also affect any part of the body. As mentioned before, chronic pain can interfere with daily activities, such as daily routines, work, social life, and even taking care of yourself or others.
Chronic pain differs from acute pain in that chronic pain continues long after you recover from an injury or illness. Sometimes the pain may occur for no particular reason. It may come in different forms and affect different areas of your body.
Some of the common types of chronic pain include:
- Joint pain or arthritis
- Neck pain and back pain
- Headaches including migraines
- Lasting pain in scar tissue
- Cancer pain near a tumor
- Neurogenic pain from damage to their nerves
- Testicular pain
- Muscle pain
It’s worth noting that chronic pain is quite common, it is one of the most common reasons why people seek medical care.
What Are Some of the Most Common Chronic Conditions Carolina Spine & Pain Treats?
To treat chronic pain, we first have to identify the cause. Here are some of the most common chronic conditions that we treat.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a long-term chronic illness that causes joint pain, muscle pain, and fatigue all over. The pain may come and go intermittently. While there is no known cause of fibromyalgia, certain factors such as genetics and stress may predispose someone towards the disease. And while it has no cure, lifestyle changes combined with medications and other therapies can offer relief.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Depression or anxiety
- Headaches or migraines
- Digestive problems including constipation or diarrhea
- Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
- Memory problems
- Jaw or face pain
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that causes numbness, pain, and tingling sensations in the hands or arms. The condition typically occurs when one of the major nerves of the hand, known as the median nerve, is compressed or squeezed as it travels through the wrist.
Symptoms:
- Pain, numbness, tingling, or burning sensation in the thumb, index, middle, or ring fingers
- Pain or tingling sensations that may travel up the forearm
- Occasional shock-like sensation that radiates to the index, middle, ring, fingers, and the thumb
- Dropping things due to numbness, weakness, or loss of proprioception
- Clumsiness and weakness in the hands that make it difficult to perform fine movements
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia is a condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for stimulating muscles along the sensory fibers in the jaw and face. The condition usually results in intense pain that reverberates along the trigeminal nerve, which makes even the mildest stimulation excruciatingly painful.
The symptoms include:
- Episodes of sharp, stabbing, and intense pain in the cheek or jaw that feels like an electric shock
- Periods of relief between episodes
- Anxiety from the thought of experiencing another episode
What Are Some of the Causes of These Conditions?
Understanding the underlying cause of your symptoms is important for the treatment of chronic conditions in Greenville, SC. Fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, and trigeminal neuralgia are linked to different possible causes.
Fibromyalgia
The cause of fibromyalgia is largely unknown. Researchers think that the condition might be linked with stress and sleep problems. It might also be linked to endocrine, immune, and biochemical problems.
Some events or conditions might bring up the symptoms, such as:
- Stressors like being born premature, or traumatic life events like accidents or abuse
- Depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders or illnesses
- Lack of exercise
- Poor sleep
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Most carpal tunnel syndrome cases are caused by a combination of factors. Many studies show that women and the elderly are more likely to develop the condition. Other risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome include:
- Heredity and genetics
- Repetitive hand use with the same motions or activities over a prolonged period
- Hormonal changes during pregnancy
- Doing activities that involve extreme extension or flexion of the hand and wrist over a prolonged period
- Health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and thyroid gland imbalance
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Most cases of trigeminal neuralgia occur spontaneously, though the condition is sometimes associated with dental procedures or facial trauma.
The condition might result from a blood vessel pressing against the trigeminal nerve, causing vascular compression. Over time, the pulse of the artery rubbing against the nerve can wear out the insulation, leaving the nerve exposed and in turn overly sensitive.
The resulting symptoms are similar to those caused by dental problems, and people with undiagnosed trigeminal neuralgia might try out different dental procedures to control the pain.
What Are the Common Treatments That Carolina Spine & Pain Provides for Those Chronic Conditions?
We utilize a number of different therapeutic options for the treatment of chronic conditions in Greenville, SC. Some common treatments include:
Medication Management
With the rapid advances in medicine, there are a wide variety of medications and treatments available to treat chronic pain. Patients will often receive various types of medications before they proceed to other forms of therapy.
Additionally, your doctor may conclude that a combination of medications and treatments might be right for you. As such, your therapy plan will be tailored to your specific needs and circumstances. Medication management typically includes:
- Common pain relievers: Pain relievers like acetaminophen can be used to help relieve headaches and minor pain, though they don’t reduce swelling
- Opioid pain medications: These are morphine-like drugs prescribed to treat acute pain
- Anti-inflammatory drugs: These are used to relieve pain and inflammation, as well as fever
- Anti-seizure medications: This can help relieve what some patients refer to as “shooting pain” by reducing the abnormal painful sensation caused by damaged nerves.
- Antidepressants: Research shows that antidepressants can relieve certain chronic pain, and help alleviate symptoms of depression
Keep in mind that, due to the addictive potential of some of these drugs, many doctors will look into exploring different methods of treatment where possible.
Radiofrequency Ablation (lumbar spine or cervical spine)
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA), also referred to as rhizotomy, is quite a new pain control technique. It’s a non-surgical procedure where radiofrequency waves are administered to certain nerves to interrupt pain signals to the brain.
RFA usually targets pain from the facet joints, which may contribute to chronic pain in the lower back or neck, and the sacroiliac joints, which can contribute to chronic lower back pain. RFA can also be used to treat other forms of pain, including pelvic pain and facial pain caused by trigeminal neuralgia.
Nerve Blocks
A nerve block is an injection of a local anesthetic close to a targeted nerve or a group of nerves to reduce pain. The procedure is particularly useful in establishing the source of pain. Injecting an anti-inflammatory medication along with a local anesthetic can promote the healing of damaged nerves.
Pain relief from a nerve block procedure can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Each patient will respond differently to the treatment. Some may experience relief from a single injection, while others will require multiple treatments.
Spinal Cord Stimulator
This is a procedure that delivers mild electrical impulses to the spinal cord to interrupt pain signals to the brain and replace them with a tingling sensation. These impulses are usually generated by a small device implanted under the skin.
The stimulation it’s delivered through insulated wires called leads, which are usually placed adjacent to the spinal cord. The handheld device works as a remote control, and you can adjust the stimulator to work with different levels of pain and target specific areas based on the condition.
Note that every patient will experience different levels of pain relief from a spinal cord stimulator, though most successful cases see a 50% to 70% reduction in pain. This can help you return to a more active lifestyle and reduce your need for pain medication.
Injections
An epidural corticosteroid injection is an effective way of delivering pain medication into the body quickly. The medicine is typically injected into the epidural area, a fat-filled area covering the spinal cord to protect it and the surrounding nerves from damage. Sometimes, the pain relief from injections is short-term, while in other cases the benefits continue for some time.
If you are experiencing intense pain that has proven difficult to treat, particularly in your arms or legs from an inflamed spinal nerve, an epidural steroid injection might just give you the quick relief you need. In many cases, nerve passages from the spine to your limbs become narrowed, causing pain. This kind of narrowing can cause inflammation of the spinal nerves. Injected steroids help reduce this inflammation, essentially opening up these passages to offer pain relief.
Orthopedic Surgery
Our experienced team of orthopedic specialists uses advanced techniques and treatments for the treatment of a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions ranging from broken bones, strains, and sprains to problems that require complex revision surgeries.
We use a multidisciplinary approach such that our orthopedic experts partner with other specialists including pain management specialists, physical therapists, oncologists, and radiologists to provide effective personalized treatment plans for all our patients.
Kyphoplasty
Also known as vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty is used to treat compression fractures on the vertebral body, which are tiny breakages that may form in the thick bone mass that makes up the frontal part of the spinal column (the vertebral body). Vertebral body fractures often lead to the compression or collapse of a vertebra, which causes the spine to shorten and curve forward. this might result in pain and not to mention a kyphotic deformity (hunched over).
Osteoporosis or thinning bones is one of the main causes of vertebral compression fractures. For some cases, pathologic fractures related to spinal tumors could also be the cause of the condition. Kyphoplasty is usually effective at providing pain relief and improved mobility within 48 hours of the procedure. In some cases, the pain relief is immediate.
Chiropractic Adjustments
To perform a chiropractic adjustment, a chiropractor uses specialized tools or their hands to manipulate different joints in the body. This process is also referred to as joint or spinal manipulation. It can help alleviate pain and correct the alignment of the body as well as the overall physical function.
Chiropractors can treat many different conditions that affect the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Depending on your condition, we will develop a treatment plan after assessing your symptoms and the results of our independent tests. your chiropractor will then use their hands and instruments to apply quick, repeated, controlled forces to a joint. This may produce a crackling or a popping sensation.
We Are Experts in the Treatment of Chronic Conditions in Greenville, SC!
The team at Carolina Spine & Pain works in partnership with various professionals to provide quality care for patients with chronic conditions in Greenville, SC. We employ the latest advances in pain management techniques, and our experienced, knowledgeable and caring pain management specialists will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan to address your unique needs.
We strive to not only help you manage your pain but also help you take better control over your life. With us, you will learn different techniques for reducing pain and the number of medications you need to manage it. We aim to improve your ability to participate in day-to-day activities, so that you lead an active and successful lifestyle, despite your chronic condition.
Our facility offers a full range of services, including diagnosis, evaluation, procedures, treatment plans, and rehabilitation. Call us today at 864-535-0144 to learn more about how we can help.