Chronic or acute back pain can be life-altering. When you are suffering from pain, activities that were once pleasurable may be out of the question. Even spending quality time with friends and relatives might be difficult due to ongoing discomfort. At Premier Surgery Center, our team of expert pain management doctors can provide pain relief through same-day procedures in our nicely appointed and friendly facility in Brunswick, Georgia.
Interventional pain management is a medical specialty that can be integral in helping to restore quality of life and pain-free living. Your pain management specialist will assess your pain and develop an individual treatment plan to address the source of pain and provide relief. They will help to determine the cause and evaluate whether it is acute or chronic pain. If your pain has been going on for more than 6 months, it is usually classified as chronic pain.
Some of the most common causes of chronic pain include:
- Muscle or ligament strains
- Bulging or herniated disks in the neck or back
- Osteoarthritis
- Skeletal irregularities
- Osteoporosis
The team of pain management specialists at Premier Surgery Center is focused on providing the most advanced options for pain relief that are available today. Our facility offers many different types of interventional pain management including:
Steroid Injections
These injections are commonly used for acute pain relief. They are popular as a treatment for facet joint arthritis or pain that is related to inflammation in a joint space. Epidural steroid injections can be guided directly into a joint or the spine to reduce or alleviate pain from arthritis, herniated discs, or sciatica. In the surgery center, we utilize fluoroscopic or x-ray guidance to make sure your doctor is able to inject the medication in just the right place to provide pain relief.
Radiofrequency Ablation
This is a safe and minimally invasive technique that is often used to treat chronic lower back and neck pain that is caused by arthritis or other degenerative conditions. Only a local anesthetic is needed to numb the treatment area and a light sedative is given to make you comfortable and relaxed during the procedure. Most people report only minimal discomfort. Radiofrequency ablation uses ultrasound radio waves to cause an interruption in the pain signals. The doctors at Premier Surgery Center use x-ray/fluoroscopic guidance to apply heat to the nerves in the back. As those nerves are ablated, it prevents the transmission of pain signals through those nerves.
Spinal Cord Stimulation Trial
In this pain-relieving procedure, the surgeon implants a small device that sends mild electrical currents to the spinal cord to treat long-term discomfort. This device helps to help block pain signals from reaching the brain. Spinal cord stimulators are generally used after other non-surgical options have failed to relieve the pain. These devices can greatly improve the quality of life, sleep and eliminate the need for pain medications in people who have suffered from chronic back pain from an injury or a failed surgery.
Pain management is an important first step in helping you on your journey to living a pain-free life. These pain management specialists will place a temporary device as a trial to determine if a permanent implant will work for you. This procedure can often allow patients to live an active life again and participate in physical therapy to further address the pain and work towards strengthening and repairing the body.
If you are searching for a solution for your chronic or acute pain, don’t wait! It’s time to schedule a consultation with one of our interventional pain management doctors who can create an individualized plan to help manage your pain and get you back to all the things you enjoy!
Get started with one of our pain management specialists today!
John Cefalu, MD
Interventional Pain Management
Emmanuel Gage, MD
Interventional Pain Management