How To Manage Your Pain

Millions of people suffer from chronic pain each year, but struggle treating it. If your pain is keeping you up at night, it may be time to seek treatment from a professional. At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we provide multiple pain management treatments, such as steroid injections, stem cell therapy and radiofrequency thermal ablation to get you back on your feet again. Through these and other treatments, your pain can be not only alleviated, but resolved, as well. Find out what options you have to manage your pain and what to expect during treatment with this guide!

What Is Chronic Pain?

Everyone will experience pain at different times during their lives and at varying levels. While a stubbed toe or a bee sting are painful events, they typically resolve within a day or two. These two common occurrences are examples of acute pain, which is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system that is short-lived and alerts you to a possible injury. Chronic pain, on the other hand, persists for weeks, months or years on end without resolution. Arthritis can cause chronic pain in your knees, sciatica can influence leg and hip pain and migraines can become a disruptor to your everyday life. A person can even have two or more co-existing chronic conditions that increase their pain, such as endometriosis, fibromyalgia, herniated discs and whiplash. This isn’t an exhaustive list of the causes of chronic pain; there are multiple other factors that influence your likelihood to experience it, such as age, workplace environment and being physically inactive. Whatever the cause of your chronic pain, there are many treatments available that are specialized to your individual needs that can help you feel better in no time.

Treatment Options

If you’re suffering from chronic pain, it’s time for you to seek a medical solution. Chronic pain will not resolve on its own, so it’s important that you’re evaluated by a medical professional to identify the underlying cause of your pain and begin a treatment plan. There are a number of specialized pain management treatments for you to choose from depending on your wants and needs. The following are some of the most popular and in-depth treatments for chronic pain:

• Epidural steroid injections
• Stem cell therapy
• Radiofrequency thermal ablation
• Percutaneous discectomy

Steroid injections are very common, and they help relieve pain in the neck, back, arms and legs by reducing nerve inflammation with corticosteroid injections in the epidural space of the spine. Patients suffering from sciatica, spondylolysis and degenerative disc benefit greatly from these injections. Stem cell therapy treatments are also chosen to stimulate the body’s natural processes for healing, especially for patients with arthritis or joint damage. Our bodies produce less stem cells as we age, so this treatment injects stem cells directly into the painful area to rebuild the damaged region. Radiofrequency thermal ablation treatments are less known but just as effective as other treatments. By using radio waves to heat the nerve tissue, discomfort caused by arthritis, neck and back pain can be relieved. Lastly, percutaneous discectomy is used for patients with herniated discs. This treatment removes material around the herniated disc, reducing pressure and pain in the body. As one of the least invasive options, percutaneous discectomies can be performed in an outpatient office in less than 30 minutes, and is also used on patients with osteoporosis and other degenerative conditions.

Making Lifestyle Changes

Chronic pain can occur randomly or after an accident, making it very difficult to avoid. However, there are some tips that you can implement in your daily life to prevent chronic pain from occurring in the first place. As humans, we are active people who live very busy lives and schedules. In the commotion of everything we’re trying to accomplish, we sometimes forget to take care of our physical, mental and emotional health, leaving us vulnerable to pain. Two of the most important things that you can do is commit to eating a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. These two factors will affect your life and likelihood of injury more than anything else, so start there. Reducing stress is another way to avoid pain. Stress and pain feed off of each other; when we’re stressed, we grind our teeth or tense our muscles, leaving us susceptible to pain. Try writing down everything in your life that stresses you out and then minimize or eliminate as many triggers as you can. Learning to say no, practicing breathing exercises and simplifying your schedule can help you lead a calmer life.

Even if you’re dealing with pain, make sure that you’re staying physically active. Walking for 30-45 minutes 5 days a week can raise your heart rate and release endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain killers that improve your mood and mind. If you’re recovering from surgery or a serious accident, make sure to get doctor-approved workouts that you can do or visit with a physical therapist to prevent further injury. Lastly, get enough sleep. Sleep helps you cope with pain by boosting energy levels, which affects your mood. If your pain medication makes you drowsy, try being strategic about when you take them. Those that make you drowsy should be taken before bed, and stimulants should be taken earlier on in the day as they will keep you up. Making a sleep schedule, avoiding naps and watching what you eat before bed will influence how restful your night is. Even if it is the last thing you do each day, make sure to set yourself up for success by practicing these sleep habits.

Schedule A Consultation

If you’re ready to get rid of your chronic pain, call Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center at (512) 980-0850! Our team is dedicated to your overall health and wellbeing, and can help you make the transition from a pain-filled life to a pain-free life. Call today to schedule a consultation!