Max
12-14-2004, 05:55 PM
Weapons in chronic-pain war
Los Angeles Daily News
Acute pain is known by an immediate intensity that announces an injury to the brain and comes with physical indicators such as a grimacing expression or an elevated heart rate. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is the prolonged sort that can alter the patient's lifestyle, limiting routine activities.
What is chronic pain? Experts agree it is pain that lasts more than six months and is not relieved by medical or surgical treatment of its apparent cause. It may stem from a specific injury long since healed or an ongoing condition.
How is pain registered in the brain? Pain is a reaction to signals transmitted from the site of an injury or other pain source, through the nerves in the spinal cord, then to your brain, which registers them as pain.
What are treatment options for chronic pain beyond oral medications?
• Physical therapy, either passive (massage or chiropractic care) or active (exercise).
• Corrective surgery, as in cases such as pinched or herniated nerves.
• Therapeutic nerve blocks, usually local anesthetic or steroid injections at the site of the pain.
• Pain medication pump, which administers medicine directly to the spinal cord, allowing for a much lower dose of morphine than the oral dosage -- 1 milligram vs. 300 milligrams. Manufacturers include Medtronic and Arrow.
• Neurostimulation devices, such as the Medtronic pain pacemaker and similar systems by ANS and Advanced Bionics.
• Neuroablation, the destruction of the specific nerves transmitting pain signals, considered a last resort to other options.
Sources: www.tamethepain.com (http://www.tamethepain.com) and Dr. Michael Ferrante.
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store
Los Angeles Daily News
Acute pain is known by an immediate intensity that announces an injury to the brain and comes with physical indicators such as a grimacing expression or an elevated heart rate. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is the prolonged sort that can alter the patient's lifestyle, limiting routine activities.
What is chronic pain? Experts agree it is pain that lasts more than six months and is not relieved by medical or surgical treatment of its apparent cause. It may stem from a specific injury long since healed or an ongoing condition.
How is pain registered in the brain? Pain is a reaction to signals transmitted from the site of an injury or other pain source, through the nerves in the spinal cord, then to your brain, which registers them as pain.
What are treatment options for chronic pain beyond oral medications?
• Physical therapy, either passive (massage or chiropractic care) or active (exercise).
• Corrective surgery, as in cases such as pinched or herniated nerves.
• Therapeutic nerve blocks, usually local anesthetic or steroid injections at the site of the pain.
• Pain medication pump, which administers medicine directly to the spinal cord, allowing for a much lower dose of morphine than the oral dosage -- 1 milligram vs. 300 milligrams. Manufacturers include Medtronic and Arrow.
• Neurostimulation devices, such as the Medtronic pain pacemaker and similar systems by ANS and Advanced Bionics.
• Neuroablation, the destruction of the specific nerves transmitting pain signals, considered a last resort to other options.
Sources: www.tamethepain.com (http://www.tamethepain.com) and Dr. Michael Ferrante.
http://stores.ebay.com/MAKSYM-Variety-Store