Pain Management: Treatment Overview
by Admin
Posted on 19-02-2025 08:47 AM
Clinicians can have challenges distinguishing between opioid misuse behaviors without opioid use disorder and mild or moderate opioid use disorder (352). For
patients
with opioid misuse that does not meet criteria for opioid use disorder (e.
G. , taking opioids in larger amounts than intended without meeting other criteria for opioid use disorder), clinicians should reassess the patient’s pain, ensure that therapies for pain management have been optimized (see recommendation 2), discuss with patients, and carefully weigh benefits and risks of continuing opioids at the current dosage (see recommendation 5). For patients who choose to but are unable to taper, clinicians can reassess for opioid use disorder and offer buprenorphine treatment or refer for buprenorphine or methadone treatment if criteria for opioid use disorder are met.
See your healthcare provider if: pain worsens or comes back after treatment. You have unpleasant side effects of pain management therapies. You feel anxious or depressed. You’re having trouble sleeping because of pain. Pain is keeping you from enjoying your usual activities.
Bioelectric therapy relieves pain by blocking pain messages to the brain. Bioelectric therapy also prompts the body to produce chemicals called endorphins (endorphins are also released by exercise) that decrease or eliminate painful sensations by blocking the message of pain from being delivered to the brain. Bioelectric therapy can be used to treat many chronic and acute conditions causing pain, such as back pain, muscle pain, headaches and migraines, arthritis, tmj disorder , diabetic neuropathy, and scleroderma. Bioelectric therapy is effective in providing temporary pain control, but it should be used as part of a total pain management program. When used along with conventional pain-relieving medications, bioelectric treatment may allow pain sufferers to reduce their dose of some pain relievers by up to 50%.
Your healthcare provider or pain management team may recommend one approach or a combination of several pain management techniques. It may involve treating the underlying cause of pain and/or managing pain as a symptom. How well a particular treatment works varies from person to person — even for the same cause of pain. Providers typically start with minimally invasive or conservative pain management therapies before trying riskier ones. But there’s no single “right” approach for pain management for all people .
Because everyone's experience of pain is different, individuals need different treatment plans to help manage their own chronic pain. As well as the above, some complementary therapies may be useful: learn strategies to improve your sleep , which can help improve your ability to function well during the day and feel less pain. Join a support group, where you can share your experiences and hear how others in similar situations manage their pain. Seek advice from an expert in pain management. Find a health service — the service finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.
What Are the Treatments for Chronic Pain?
Many non-medicine treatments are available to help you manage your pain.
A combination of treatments and therapies is often more effective than just one. Some non-medicine options include:
heat or cold – use ice packs immediately after an injury to reduce swelling. Heat packs are better for relieving chronic muscle or joint injuries. Physical therapies – such as walking, stretching, strengthening or aerobic exercises may help reduce pain, keep you mobile and improve your mood. You may need to increase your exercise very slowly to avoid over-doing it. Massage – this is another physical therapy; it is better suited to soft tissue injuries and should be avoided if the pain is in the joints.
Sometimes nondrug pain treatments and medications do not provide the anticipated level of pain relief. This is often partly due to an incomplete understanding of the medical causes of chronic pain symptoms, dr. Hooten says. When considering the potential causes of chronic pain, it can be helpful to organize symptoms and other clinical information around the three main categories or types of pain: neuropathic pain, nociceptive pain and nociplastic pain. Knowing which type you have can help determine the best treatment for you.
Millions of americans are in pain. Some suffer from chronic headaches or back pain; others are recovering from surgery, sports injuries, or accidents. Every year, millions of prescriptions are written for pain medications — many of them powerful opioids that can cause side effects and lead to addiction. But there are many non-opioid treatments available for pain, including prescription and over-the-counter aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen; nondrug remedies such as massage and acupuncture; and high-tech treatments using radio waves and electrical signals. If you’re in pain and want to avoid taking opioids, an anesthesiologist can work with you to develop a safe and effective pain management plan.