Avoiding
Surgery through Interventional Pain Management in Red Bank, NJ
Monmouth
Pain and Rehabilitation’s Medical
Director offers a number of interventional procedures (Epidural
Steroid Injections, Joint Injections, etc.) in addition to physical
therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic
care, in order to help patients recover from painful conditions.
Our
number one objective is to provide pain management strategies
that allow patients to rehabilitate without excessive drug use
or unnecessary, traumatic surgery.
At
Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we hope to offer our
patients the chance to rehabilitate the best way possible—armed
with the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about
treatment plans and care. Please take
a look at these statistics to learn more about surgery for painful
conditions such as back pain. We also offer information on
the use
of painkillers.
For
some patients, pain and other symptoms may be severe enough to
warrant the use of more aggressive strategies. This does not mean
that every patient in serious pain requires surgery or prolonged
drug therapy. At Monmouth Pain and Rehabilitation, we offer
a number of minimally invasive, interventional procedures. Some
of these are listed below:
Facet
Joint Injections: Facet joints are located at each segment
of the spine; they are involved with both the mobility and stability
of the spine. Pain in these joints is often caused by a trauma,
from mechanical stress, or as the result of arthritis.
A steroid injection in the neck (cervical spine), upper back (thoracic),
or lower back (lumbar spine) can reduce pain.
Sacroiliac
Joint Injections: Patients with lower
back pain can benefit from this type of corticosteroid injection.
The sacroiliac joint is located between the sacrum (the bone in
the lower portion of the spine) and the right and left iliac (pelvic)
bones.
Coccyx
Injections: For pain originating in the coccyx (the tailbone).
Trigger
Point Injections: Used to alleviate myofascial (muscle)
pain in the neck, lower
back, arms, and legs, Trigger Point Injections may also be used
to treat fibromyalgia or certain
types of headaches.
Sympathetic
Blocks: By injecting a numbing agent around the sympathetic
nerves in the lower back or neck, the sympathetic nervous system
in those areas is temporarily ‘blocked.’ This procedure
can reduce or eliminate pain in order to allow for healing and
rehabilitation.
Spinal Cord Stimulator Trial: Some chronic
back pain sufferers may benefit from spinal cord stimulation—a
therapy that involves the implantation of a device to block pain
signals before they are able to reach the brain. Before implantation,
a trial period is recommended in which a temporary implant is
used to assess the effectiveness of this treatment.
Image-Guided
Peripheral Joint Injections: This steroid injection is used
to relieve inflamed and painful joints in the shoulders,
elbows, hips, and knees. Patients
with tendonitis or arthritis often
benefit from peripheral joint injections.
Viscosupplementation:
For osteoarthritis in the knees,
viscosupplementation involves the injection of hyaluronic acid
into the knee joint. This provides the necessary lubrication to
help the bones of the knee move smoothly over each other while
also allowing for better shock absorption for joint loads.
Radiofrequency
Ablation: This treatment involves the ‘ablation’
of nerves surrounding the facet joints in order to destroy the
ability to transmit pain signals to the brain. It is used for
patients experiencing chronic
pain, often in the lower back. Radiofrequency Ablation is
performed in a surgical center or hospital.
Discograms
