Pain Management in NJ is Changing for the Better
Medicine, like most other industries, is constantly improving. Doctors and researchers are always trying to better understand the workings of the human body. The more we understand how the body does what it does and why, the better we are able to address problems when they inevitably arise. Today, we will be focusing on the specialty of pain management. This is a fairly new field that is helping a large portion of the population who suffer from chronic pain. We thankfully have a much better understanding of pain pathways. This allows doctors to more effectively treat patients. Another great aspect of this improvement in treating pain is that there are so many other options aside from opioids. Doctors of pain management in NJ like Progressive Pain Management are changing the industry for the better.
Pills Can be a Problem
The more and more we understand about the body, the more we discover better ways to perform medicine. Medications used to be the go-to solution for many medical issues. Pills like antibiotics are still extremely important and serve a very special purpose. Other pills, like opioids, however, are causing more problems than they are solving. Abuse of medications is unfortunately a big issue. The abuse is happening on both sides of the prescription pad because they are both being over-prescribed and over-used. Unfortunately, the fact these medications do in fact take pain away is the problem. Because they can relieve pain, patients often become addicted. Thankfully, much of this is being avoided due to the advancements in pain management treatments. Treatments that don’t involve medication are becoming more and more effective. Pills can and certainly do treat pain. But they simply mask the problem, they don’t fix it.
Pain Management in NJ is Less Invasive
One reason doctors are better able to treat patients with pain is that there are so many more patient-friendly treatment options. Surgical procedures often come with the side effect of additional pain. Solving one source of pain by replacing it with another is not an effective treatment plan. However, doctors are beginning to better understand how pain works. This means the treatments are becoming much more productive. Rather than simply masking pain and having to constantly take more medication, new treatments are stopping the pain at the source. These treatments often include injections of different types.
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Steroid injections are common, but is just one type of pain control injection. This type of treatment uses anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling of tissues. These types of injections are so effective because they go right to the source. One down side is that they may not provide long-term relief for some patients.
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Nerve blocks are another injectable treatment. One routine type of nerve block uses an anesthetic to numb the nerve. This effectively stops the pain signal from reaching the brain.
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Other minor medical procedures include nerve ablations and regenerative medicine treatments like stem cell injections. All these types of treatments combined allow doctors of pain management in NJ to provide patients of chronic pain with relief.
Pain Management Diagnostics are Improving Too
Aside from the treatment, the way doctors are diagnosing pain in patients is becoming less invasive. Procedures such as facet branch blocks, sacroiliac joint injections, and Stellate Ganglion blocks all help doctors determine the exact source of pain. Knowing precisely where pain is originating allows the doctor to better treat it. If the nerve or area injected is free of pain after the injection, this confirms that is the source of the pain. If there is no relief, the treatment is ineffective meaning that area is not the cause of the patient’s discomfort.
Patients Feel Relief as Doctors of Pain Management in NJ Understand Pain
Less invasive ways of diagnosing chronic pain and effective, long-term treatments for chronic pain are helping doctors provide patients with relief. So many people suffer from invisible illnesses and many of these leave people suffering on a daily basis. Thankfully, pain management medicine is improving every year. The better we understand how and why we feel pain, the better able doctors of pain management in NJ can treat it. For the first time in years, with little to no side effects from treatments, patients are feeling relief.