Pain Medication

Medications

  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) act on substances in the body that can cause inflammation, pain, and fever.
  • Corticosteroids are often administered as an injection at the site of musculoskeletal injuries. They exert powerful anti-inflammatory effects. They can also be taken orally to relieve pain from, for example, arthritis.
  • Acetaminophen increases the body’s pain threshold, but it has little effect on inflammation.
  • Opioids, also known as narcotic analgesics, modify pain messages in the brain.
  • Muscle relaxants reduce pain from tense muscle groups, most likely through sedative action in the central nervous system.
  • Anti-anxiety drugs work on pain in three ways: they reduce anxiety, they relax muscles, and they help patients cope with discomfort.
  • Some antidepressants, particularly the tricyclics, may reduce pain transmission through the spinal cord.
  • Some anticonvulsant drugs also relieve the pain of neuropathies, possibly by stabilizing nerve cells.

Injections

Lumbar Medical Branch Block

This procedure helps relieve pain in the facet joints in the spine. This is done under fluoroscopy guidance (X-ray).

Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection

This procedure is where the local anesthetic and steroid medication is administered into the epidural space, or near the nerve root of the problem area. (I.E. Hip, knee, etc.) *This procedure is done under fluoroscopy (x-ray).

Radio Frequency Ablation

This procedure provides long – lasting relief for facet mediated pain. It can be repeated every 6-12 months.

Caudal Epidural Steroid Injection

The injection is done by an area near the tailbone. This procedure is done under fluoroscopy guidance (X-ray)

Selective Nerve Root Block

This is a procedure that targets specific nerves and relieves the pain caused by inflammation. This is done under fluoroscopy guidance (X-ray)

Nerve Block

Facet joint block: Also known as a zygapophysial joint block, the facet joint block is performed to determine whether a facet joint is a source of pain. Facet joints are located on the back of the spine, where one vertebra slightly overlaps another. These joints guide and restrict the spines movement.

map