Pain management Expert in Perumbakkam
Your Trusted Partner in Pain management
Pain can be debilitating and frustrating. It may interfere with sleep, work, activities, and quality time with friends and family. We are here to provide you with top-notch care and guidance to tackle your problems.
Understanding Pain Management
What is Pain Management?
Everyone feels some kind of pain from time to time. Pain is the most common symptom of potentially thousands of injuries, diseases, disorders and conditions you can experience in your lifetime. It can also result from treatments for conditions and diseases. Pain can last a short time and go away when you heal (acute pain). Or it can also last for months or years (chronic pain).
Pain management specialists help you regulate pain with medications, procedures, exercises and therapy. To reduce or relieve pain, your provider may recommend one approach or a combination of several. You may receive care in a pain clinic, provider’s office or hospital.
Depending on the cause and type of pain, it may not be possible to find total relief, and the pain may not get better right away. Your provider will work with you to adjust your pain management plan so you can feel better.
Types of Pain
Pain is a general term that describes any kind of unpleasant or uncomfortable sensation in the body.
There are many different types and causes of pain, and these can be grouped into eight different categories to help with pain management:
- Acute pain
- Chronic pain
- Breakthrough pain
- Bone pain
- Nerve pain
- Phantom pain
- Soft tissue pain
- Referred pain.
Acute pain
This starts suddenly and only lasts for a short period (ie, minutes, hours, a couple of days, occasionally a month or two).
It is usually caused by a specific event or injury, such as:
- A broken bone
- A car crash or other type of accident
- A fall
- Burns or cuts
- Dental work
- Labor and childbirth
- Surgery.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is pain that has persisted for longer than six months and is experienced most days. It may have originally started as acute pain, but the pain has continued long after the original injury or event has healed or resolved. Chronic pain can range from mild to severe and is associated with conditions such as:
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Cancer
- Circulation problems
- Diabetes
- Fibromyalgia
- Headache.
Breakthrough Pain
Breakthrough pain is a sudden, short, sharp increase in pain that occurs in people who are already taking medications to relieve chronic pain caused by conditions such as arthritis, cancer, or fibromyalgia.
Breakthrough pain may also be called a pain flare and it may occur with exercise or physical activity, coughing, illness, stress, or during the period between pain medication doses. The pain level is often severe, but the location of the pain is usually the same as the person’s chronic pain.
Bone Pain
This is a tenderness, aching or discomfort in one or more bones that is present during both exercise and rest.
Bone pain is commonly associated with conditions or diseases that affect the structure or function of bone, such as cancer, a fracture (broken bone), infection, leukemia, mineral deficiency, sickle cell anemia, or osteoporosis. Many pregnant women experience pelvic girdle pain.
Nerve Pain
Nerve pain is caused by nerve damage or inflammation. It is usually described as a sharp, shooting, burning or stabbing pain and may also be called neuralgia or neuropathic pain. Some people describe it as being like an electric shock and it is often worse at night.
Nerve pain can severely interfere with a person’s life and affect their sleep, work, and physical activity levels. They are often very sensitive to cold and may experience pain with even the slightest touch. Many people with chronic nerve pain also develop anxiety or depression.
People with neuropathic pain are often very sensitive to touch or cold and can experience pain as a result of stimuli that would not normally be painful, such as brushing the skin.
Soft Tissue Pain
This is pain or discomfort that results from damage or inflammation of the muscles, tissues, or ligaments. It may be associated with swelling or bruising and common causes include:
- Back or neck pain
- Bursitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Rotator cuff injury
- Sciatic pain
- Sports injuries, such as sprains or strains
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome.
Phantom Pain
Phantom pain is pain that feels like it is coming from a body part that is no longer there. It is common in people who have had a limb amputated, but is different from phantom limb sensation, which is usually painless.
Historically, Doctors believed phantom pain was a psychological problem but they now realize these are real pain sensations that originate in the spinal cord and brain. It often gets better with time, but managing phantom pain can be challenging in some people.
Soft Tissue Pain
This is pain or discomfort that results from damage or inflammation of the muscles, tissues, or ligaments. It may be associated with swelling or bruising and common causes include:
- Back or neck pain
- Bursitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Rotator cuff injury
- Sciatic pain
- Sports injuries, such as sprains or strains
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome.
How Do I Manage My Pain?
There are many different types of pain-relieving medications and each class works in a slightly different way. Most medications can be grouped under one of the following:
- Nonopioids: A medicine that is not similar to morphine (an opioid) but is not addictive (eg, acetaminophen, aspirin, NSAIDs)
- Weak opioids: A medicine that is similar to morphine (an opioid) but not considered as strong (eg, codeine, tramadol)
- Combination opioids: These contain a nonopioid and either a weak opioid or a strong opioid (eg, acetaminophen and hydrocodone)
- Strong opioids: A medicine such as morphine or similar to morphine that has the potential to cause addiction (eg, fentanyl, morphine, oxycodone)
- Other: (eg, ketamine)
- Adjuvant treatments: A medicine that can help relieve pain by relieving inflammation or by improving the functioning of other systems (eg, cannabidiol, capsaicin cream, gabapentin)
- Nonpharmacological treatments: (Drug-free treatments), such as psychotherapy or counseling.
Pain Management for Specific Types of Pain
Some medications are considered better for some types of pain compared with others, although factors such as the cause of the pain, genetics, interacting medications or supplements, as well as coexisting conditions, can all impact on how effective a medicine is. Possible treatment options for different types of pain are:
- Acute pain: Nonopioids, weak opioids, opioids, nonpharmacological treatments such as ice or bioelectric therapy
- Chronic pain: Nonopioids, weak opioids, opioids, antidepressants, capsaicin cream, nonpharmacological treatments such as bioelectric therapy, radiation therapy
- Breakthrough pain: Short-acting opioid, nonpharmacological treatments such as acupuncture or relaxation techniques
- Bone pain: Nonopioids, bisphosphonates, opioids, nutritional supplements, surgery
- Nerve pain: Antidepressants, anticonvulsants, capsaicin cream, nonpharmacological treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Phantom pain: Nonopioids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, ketamine, nonpharmacological treatments such as acupuncture or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
- Soft tissue pain: Nonopioids, corticosteroids, nonpharmacological treatments such as ice, physiotherapy, or ultrasonography
- Referred pain: Nonopioids, cold/warm compresses, nonpharmacological treatments such as massage or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
What are the advantages of Pain Management?
A comprehensive pain management plan can help you feel better physically and mentally. Although it isn’t always possible to find total relief from pain, you may be able to reduce pain or learn to respond to it in a different way. Many people with chronic pain enjoy a better quality of life with a pain management program.
What are the risks or complications of Pain Management?
Different pain management approaches have their own complications. Talk to your provider about medication side effects and the complications from injections, hands-on treatments or other procedures.
Frequently Asked Question on Pain Management
Yes, pain management approaches often include strategies to address the psychological aspects of pain, such as stress, anxiety, depression, and coping skills. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one example of a psychological treatment that can be effective in managing chronic pain.