Each year in the United States, about one in five adults experiences chronic pain, and about a third of them report feeling frequently limited in daily life or work because of it.
While oral pain medications can help some people, they aren’t ideal or sufficient for everyone. Thankfully, there are other options for managing pain.
Our experienced neurology experts at Michigan Neurology Associates in metro Detroit, Michigan, provide diagnostic tests and customized treatments to minimize your pain and help you function better. Read on to learn about several pain management options that don’t involve pills.
Epidural steroid injections deliver anesthetic and steroid medications through an injection for reduced pain linked with arthritis, herniated discs, and degenerative conditions.
The steroid and anesthetics provided commonly help relieve pain in your neck that radiates into your arms, buttocks, legs, or lower back, including sciatica pain.
During a minimally invasive procedure, we guide the needle containing these therapeutic substances to the proper treatment point using an X-ray. You might feel some pressure, but the process is painless.
Results vary from person to person, but you can expect some amount of relief quickly, which may last for several weeks or as long as a few years.
For pain relief that relies on your body’s cells and natural healing processes, you may want to consider stem cell and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. These therapies are regenerative medicine treatments that aim to treat damaged or diseased tissue and restore normal function.
Stem cells are cells your body already has that have the unique ability to transform into cells you need in order to create new tissue or prompt existing cells to do so. We use stem cells from your own body for this treatment.
During PRP therapy, we extract a small amount of your blood, which we send through a centrifuge to separate out platelet-rich plasma. Once injected in a treatment area, both PRP and stem cells stimulate your body’s healing processes.
Benefits unfold gradually after treatment, which can treat a range of painful conditions, such as:
If pain-relieving injections don’t suffice, we may suggest that you try bone marrow concentrate therapy for expedited healing and less pain or a radiofrequency treatment that destroys fibers that stimulate your brain’s pain signals.
For chronic migraines, we may recommend Botox® injections or a focused nerve block.
Lifestyle changes, such as appropriate exercise, eating a healthy diet, and prioritizing sufficient sleep, can also help reduce pain in some cases. Determining the underlying cause of your pain helps us determine the best treatment plan, and that typically starts with an exam.
Learn more about pain management or get the care you need at one of our locations in Clinton Township, St. Clair Shores, or Utica, Michigan. Reach out to us at Michigan Neurology Associates today.
