What is interventional pain management?
Interventional pain management is a medical specialty that uses minimally invasive procedures to relieve acute and chronic pain that doesn’t improve with conventional treatment. Interventional pain procedures are done with a board-certified anesthesiologist who can provide sedation if indicated and so desired.
Pain Management Specialists of New York offers comprehensive care with thorough physical examinations and minimally invasive interventional procedures and can refer you out for MRIs and electromyograms (EMGs). The providers perform your procedure on-site in their fully credentialed surgery center.
How does interventional pain management work?
Interventional pain management targets the nerves responsible for your pain. Pain Management Specialists of New York uses many different techniques that work through two primary mechanisms: The treatments reduce nerve inflammation, and they stop pain signals from traveling through specifically targeted nerves.
Nerves carry pain messages from the source of the problem wherever it’s located in your body, through your spinal cord, and to your brain. Since you only feel pain after the brain interprets the nerve signals, treatments that block the signals can diminish your pain.
Is imaging used during interventional pain management procedures?
Pain Management Specialists of New York performs interventional procedures using real-time imaging that allows them to see the targeted structures and pinpoint the exact location for an injection or other procedure.
Some interventional pain management procedures use ultrasound imaging, while others used advanced C-arm fluoroscopy, which produces high-resolution X-rays in real-time.
A board-certified anesthesiologist is on-site to monitor and administer sedation if needed for your interventional treatment.
What types of interventional pain management procedures might I receive?
These are a few examples of the interventional pain management procedures often performed by Pain Management Specialists of New York:
Epidural steroid injections
Epidural steroid injections alleviate back, neck, leg, and arm pain that’s caused by intervertebral disc problems, such as bulging or herniated discs.
Your provider at Pain Management Specialists of New York injects a steroid and local anesthetic in the epidural space of your spine, targeting the nerves transmitting pain signals. As the steroid reduces nerve inflammation, you experience long-lasting pain relief.
Selective nerve root blocks
A nerve root block is both a diagnostic and a therapeutic procedure. Your provider injects an anesthetic at or near the specific nerve suspected of causing your pain. If your pain improves, then that nerve is verified as the source of the problem. Then your provider may recommend a therapeutic root block or another procedure.
Medial branch blocks
Your provider performs a medial branch block to treat neck and back pain caused by facet joint disease. The medial nerves carry pain messages from the facet joints in your spine to your brain. By injecting a local anesthetic, your provider precisely identifies the joint causing your pain, and then they can give you longer-lasting pain relief by performing another block containing an anesthetic and steroids.
Radiofrequency ablation
Radiofrequency ablation is considered after two nerve root blocks or medial branch blocks verify the precise nerve transmitting pain signals. The nerve problem associated with facet disease may not show up on an MRI, so they diagnose based on your response to medial blocks.
Then your provider uses radiofrequency energy to wound the nerve. The wound stops nerve signals, giving you pain relief that lasts 6-9 months.
Pain Management Specialists of New York may recommend radiofrequency ablation to relieve chronic pain caused by facet joint disease or to block pain messages that originate in many areas of your body due to neuropathy, injuries, and other health conditions.
Trigger point injections
Trigger point injections treat pain caused by muscle spasms and knots. Using ultrasound imaging to guide the needle, your provider injects a local anesthetic, steroid, or both to alleviate your pain.
Percutaneous discectomy
A percutaneous discectomy treats a herniated disc using a needle to remove a small amount of the gel-like tissue inside the disc.
Spinal cord stimulation
Spinal cord stimulation alleviates pain by sending mild electrical pulses into spinal nerves. The pulses mask or block nerve signals. Since this treatment targets specific nerves in your spine, it can help relieve back and neck pain, as well as pain coming from any problem throughout your body.
If you need pain relief, call Pain Management Specialists of New York, or book an appointment online for interventional pain management.
