Chronic pain can severely limit one’s ability to live a full an active life. For those who suffer from chronic pain, every-day tasks can become burdensome chores. Just as there are a wide range of pain conditions, so too are there a variety of interventional pain management procedures available to treat them. One widely used modality involves using injections to treat the source of the pain. Depending on your specific condition, its severity and location, these injections can provide temporary or longer-lasting relief. Here are several common interventional pain management treatment options available to patients suffering from chronic pain:

• Epidural Steroid Injections – This is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to treat neck, shoulder, arm, back, and leg pain resulting from inflammation of spinal nerve roots. Low doses of corticosteroids – a powerful and long-term anti-inflammatory medication – are injected directly into the source of your pain, instead of being delivered orally or intravenously. By injecting the steroids directly, treatment is delivered precisely into the source of the pain, avoiding many of the unwanted side-effects of long-terms steroid use. The procedure only takes about five minutes and can be administered under local anesthesia. The effects of the injection can last weeks to months. Repeat injections can be done at the discretion of your pain management doctor, up to 3 times per year.
• Medial Branch Blocks/Facet Joint Injections – Used to both diagnose and treat pain emanating from the small joints of the spine, these injections are performed under live X-ray guidance. They also deliver low doses of corticosteroids and local anesthetics to the source of chronic pain in the neck, upper and lower back, and buttocks caused by diseases of these joints such as arthritis.
• Major Joint (Shoulder, Hip, and Knee) Injections – These interventional pain management injections are used to treat pain stemming from a variety of causes, including osteoarthritis. Sometimes performed under live X-ray or ultrasound guidance, the procedure involves injecting medications such as corticosteroids, local anesthetics, or hyaluronan directly into the source of your pain.

In addition, viscosupplement injections supplement the fluid in your knee to cushion and lubricate the joint, and can provide up to six months of osteoarthritis knee pain relief with three injections.

• Occipital Nerve Blocks – Aimed at treating migraines or other types of headaches, this 30-second procedure uses a local anesthetic with or without a small dose of corticosteroid that is injected into the back of the head in close proximity to the greater and lesser occipital nerves, (the nerves that run from the top of the spinal cord up through the scalp).
• Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Block Injection – These injections are primarily used to diagnose and treat low back pain associated with the joint that connects the bottom of the spine with the pelvis. Using fluoroscopic guidance, your physician injects a numbing agent (lidocaine) and a steroid into the SI joint. This procedure may be repeated up to three times a year and is often followed by physical therapy and/or chiropractic adjustment.
• Selective nerve root block (SNRB) – Your pain management specialist may use this injection to identify the source of nerve pain that radiates from your neck down into your shoulders, arms, and hands. This can be caused by a compressed or inflamed cervical nerve root due to a degenerated or herniated disk, spinal stenosis, or another degenerative spinal condition. First, a contrast dye is injected to determine the correct placement at or near the affected nerve. Then a second injection that contains lidocaine and cortisone are injected into the nerve root, providing long-term pain relief.

If you live in the Plano, Texas area, Tarpon Orthopedics can help you regain the ability to move pain-free. We are experts in sports medicine, spine, and pain management, as well as joint replacement. Call 9725961059 for a consultation today in our West Plano, North Plano, or Addison, Texas locations.

Author Yenny Rojas