Enjoy life pain free

(ARA) – Millions of people live with pain every day. Whether the pain is the result of exercising, playing sports, picking up children or just living busy lives, it can affect your day-to-day lifestyle and become a burden.

Many individuals are under the impression that certain types of common spinal and orthopedic pain conditions must be treated with surgery. For example, conditions such as a herniated disc in the neck or back or cartilage tears of the knee were at one time thought to be effectively treated only through surgery. However, with innovative and advanced therapies, we are now changing the way patients are treated – without surgery.

Today’s advancements in therapeutic approaches provide an expanding range of minimally invasive, non-surgical treatment options for many different types of musculoskeletal injuries and ailments, including: herniated discs, sciatica, arthritis (in the spine or joints), rotator cuff tears and spinal compression fractures. In addition, there are other types of chronic musculoskeletal injuries such as joint sprains and other ligament strains, whiplash and arthritis that can be treated more effectively than ever before.

“If you are experiencing pain from any one of these conditions there are a number of different non-surgical treatment options available,” says Dr. Daniel Kendall  at Capitol Spine & Pain Centers,  the leading interventional pain practice in the Washington, D.C., area for more than 30 years. “Using fluoroscopic-guided (X-ray) techniques, we are able to target various sources of pain and offer more effective treatments. Some of these treatments have been available for many years but have become enhanced because of improvements in our imaging capabilities.”

In other instances, such as the treatment of spinal compression fractures, the ability to provide instantaneous pain relief using a form of medical superglue (called methyl methacrylate) simply was not available until about 10 years ago.

Innovations also continue in treatment such as platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy, which is particularly helpful for ligament strains and tears and early forms of arthritis of the joints. PRP provides non-surgical solutions that were not available in the past.

Recognizing if your pain needs medical attention
To help determine whether the pain you are feeling needs medical attention, consider the following tips from Capitol Spine & Pain Centers:

1. If you’re experiencing pain radiating down your leg or numbness and tingling in your arm or leg, you should see a pain specialist because it could mean you have a pinched nerve.
2. If you’re experiencing pain in your back when sitting or bending forward this could represent a bulging disc, which should be treated by a pain specialist.
3. If you’re experiencing pain running down the side of your arm when it is raised over your head you should seek medical attention from a pain specialist because you could have a rotator cuff inflammation.

These are just a few examples of pain people may experience; however, any pain – whether chronic or acute – should be evaluated by a trained medical professional.

Finding a pain specialist for your specific need
“As a working mom with two young boys, being out of commission from my back pain just isn’t an option,” says Laurie Mobley, patient at Capitol Spine & Pain Centers. “Like many new moms, I ignored my pain hoping it would go away, but it became so intense that I couldn’t move. When I sought out treatment, I wanted to make sure it would work for me and my family and wasn’t just one size fits all. Having a physician that would listen and help me understand my symptoms was really important to me.”

It’s critical when seeking pain management care that you look for physicians who specialize in pain medicine with a focus on restoring the patient’s quality of life. The ultimate goal of the physician should be to have the patient return to an active, enjoyable lifestyle by preventing or minimizing the recurrence of pain.

Understanding the physical, psychological and emotional toll pain can have on a person’s life is essential,” says Dr. Abraham Cherrick at Capitol Spine & Pain Centers. “All of the doctors I work with personalize our care specifically to each patient’s unique case, customizing a treatment plan to deliver the best possible outcome. Using this approach, we have helped countless individuals gain relief and return to healthy, active lifestyles.”

To learn more, go to www.treatingpain.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent