Pain Knowledge Library2
Cancer
Care and Management
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Cardiovascular
Chiropractic
Conditions
Lower Back Pain
Lower back pain is a common problem that severely impacts the quality of your life. It can limit your ability to be active. It can make you to miss work. Many different causes may lead to pain in your lower back.
Diabetes
Care and Management
Ketone Testing for Diabetes Management
This test measures the amount of ketones in the blood or urine. Ketones are acids that build up to a toxic level when the body does not have enough insulin. The presence of ketones can show that a person who has diabetes is experiencing a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This is a serious complication of diabetes that can be life-threatening.
Bones and Joints
Care and Management
Conditions
Shoulder Pain
Our shoulders are the most movable joints in the body. They give our arms great range of motion. They allow us to lift and control heavy loads. Shoulder pain is a problem many of us feel at some time in our lives. Let’s learn about shoulder pain, and what you can do about it.
Brain and Mental Health
Digestive and Urinary Systems
Medical Emergencies
Medications
Overviews
Care and Management
Interventional Pain Management
If you live with pain that won’t go away, you know how frustrating it can be. Interventional pain management is a branch of medical care that can help. Specialists in this field find the cause of your pain. They treat it at its source. This can give you a better quality of life.
Multimodal Anesthesia and Pain Control
Multimodal pain control eases your pain with a combination of medicines. It can be used before, during and after a surgical procedure. The goal is to reduce the use of narcotics and their unpleasant side effects.
Quality of Care
Pain Management
Managing Pain After Surgery
Your surgery is done, and now it’s time to focus on pain control and recovery. Most people can expect to have some pain after surgery. But it should never be unbearable. Your doctor wants you to be comfortable enough to take deep breaths and move as needed. This will help your recovery.
Pain Scale: Describing and Rating Your Pain
When you are being treated for an injury, illness or a chronic condition, you may be asked to talk about the level of pain you feel. This can be tricky, because pain can be difficult to describe. Pain can cause many types of sensations, and what feels very painful for one person may not feel so bad for another.
Reproductive Health
Wellness
Health and Fitness
Exercising With Acute Pain
We all know exercise is important for good health. But some people feel pain when they exercise. If you have pain that starts suddenly, lasts only a short time and then goes away with rest, we say you have “acute” pain. Don’t ignore it.
Exercising With Chronic Pain
We all know exercise is important for good health. But if you live with chronic pain, exercising can be hard. Pain often robs you of motivation. Some exercises may be too painful. But even with chronic pain, most people can exercise safely.
Preventing Back Pain
Most of us know the frustration of back pain. It’s something almost everyone has to deal with at some point in life. Back pain can last for a few days or weeks. For some, it becomes a chronic problem. The good news is, there are some things you can do to keep back pain away. These tips can help.
Medications
Spine
Arm and Elbow
Care and Management
Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI) in the Cervical Spine
This injection treats the pain of an inflamed nerve in your cervical spine. It relieves nerve swelling. If you have a herniated disc, spinal stenosis or some other problem that’s pressing on a nerve, it may help you.
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Spinal Cord Stimulation (Medtronic)
Spinal cord stimulation (also called SCS) uses electrical impulses to relieve chronic pain of the back, ams and legs. It is believed that electrical pulses prevent pain signals from being received by the brain. SCS candidates include people who suffer from neuropathic pain and for whom conservative treatments have failed.
Conditions
Cervical Radiculopathy
This condition is an irritation or compression of one or more nerve roots in the cervical spine. Because these nerves travel to the shoulders, arms and hands, an injury in the cervical spine can cause symptoms in these areas. Cervical radiculopathy may result from a variety of problems with the bones and tissues of the cervical spinal column.
Joint Pain
Joint pain is a common problem for many people. It can keep you from doing the things you want to do. It can make it hard for you to be as active as you like. Let’s take a moment to learn about the causes of joint pain, and what you can do about it.
Foot and Ankle
Care and Management
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Conditions
Chronic Lateral Ankle Pain
This is a pain on the outer side of your ankle. It’s a lasting pain that you may feel all the time. It can make it hard for you to walk and run, and it can increase the possibility of ankle sprains.
Joint Pain
Joint pain is a common problem for many people. It can keep you from doing the things you want to do. It can make it hard for you to be as active as you like. Let’s take a moment to learn about the causes of joint pain, and what you can do about it.
General Body
Care and Management
Exercising With Acute Pain
We all know exercise is important for good health. But some people feel pain when they exercise. If you have pain that starts suddenly, lasts only a short time and then goes away with rest, we say you have “acute” pain. Don’t ignore it.
Exercising With Chronic Pain
We all know exercise is important for good health. But if you live with chronic pain, exercising can be hard. Pain often robs you of motivation. Some exercises may be too painful. But even with chronic pain, most people can exercise safely.
Interventional Pain Management
If you live with pain that won’t go away, you know how frustrating it can be. Interventional pain management is a branch of medical care that can help. Specialists in this field find the cause of your pain. They treat it at its source. This can give you a better quality of life.
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Multimodal Anesthesia and Pain Control
Multimodal pain control eases your pain with a combination of medicines. It can be used before, during and after a surgical procedure. The goal is to reduce the use of narcotics and their unpleasant side effects.
Pain Management (Overview)
If you suffer from pain, you know how hard it can be to live with. Pain management is a branch of medical care that specializes in pain control. It can help you enjoy a better quality of life.
Trigger Point Injections
This outpatient procedure is designed to reduce or relieve the pain of trigger points. These small, tender knots can form in muscles or in the fascia (the soft, stretchy connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs). The trigger point injection procedure takes only a few minutes to complete.
Conditions
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
This is a type of chronic, long-lasting, pain. In most cases, it develops in an arm or a leg that you have previously injured. With CRPS, you may have unexplained pain that won’t go away. It may be severe, and it may spread.
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
This is a chronic pain disorder. It affects the muscles and the connective tissue (called the “fascia”) that surrounds them. With this syndrome, you may develop sensitive areas on your body called “trigger points.” When these places are pressed or stressed, you feel pain. This condition can affect muscles throughout your body.
Pain Management (Overview)
If you suffer from pain, you know how hard it can be to live with. Pain management is a branch of medical care that specializes in pain control. It can help you enjoy a better quality of life.
Peripheral Neuropathy
This condition is a problem with the peripheral nervous system. These are the nerves that branch out from your brain and spinal cord and travel to all of the other parts of your body.
Hand and Wrist
Head, Neck and Spine
Care and Management
Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI) in the Cervical Spine
This injection treats the pain of an inflamed nerve in your cervical spine. It relieves nerve swelling. If you have a herniated disc, spinal stenosis or some other problem that’s pressing on a nerve, it may help you.
Facet Joint Injections
The facet joints, found on both sides of the back of the spine, can become painfully irritated or inflamed. A facet joint injection may help diagnose the source of a patient’s pain. It can also relieve pain and inflammation.
Kyphoplasty (Balloon Vertebroplasty)
This minimally-invasive procedure repairs a vertebral compression fracture. It helps restore the spine’s natural shape. Some patients experience rapid pain relief after the procedure.
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. Steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions.
Lumbar Sympathetic Block
This procedure is an injection that numbs branches of nerves in your lower back. It helps doctors find and treat a number of problems linked to these nerves. Usually, a series of injections is needed to treat a problem.
Managing Low Back Pain
Low back pain can cause problems that ripple through every part of your life. You don’t do a lot of the things you enjoy because it just hurts too much. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage your pain.
Managing Neck Pain
If you’re dealing with neck pain, you know how frustrating it can be. Fortunately, you can try these simple strategies for managing neck pain.
Medial Branch Block
This is an injection of numbing medicine. It bathes the medial branch nerves, which attach to the facet joints of your spine. These nerves hurt when facet joints are injured or diseased. The injection helps find the source of your pain. And it may relieve your pain for a brief time.
Preventing Back Pain
Most of us know the frustration of back pain. It’s something almost everyone has to deal with at some point in life. Back pain can last for a few days or weeks. For some, it becomes a chronic problem. The good news is, there are some things you can do to keep back pain away. These tips can help.
Conditions
Compression Fractures of the Spine
This is a collapse of vertebral bone. It can affect one or more vertebrae. Compression fractures typically develop in your mid or lower back. This can change the shape of your spine.
Degenerative Disc Disease
This condition is a weakening of one or more vertebral discs, which normally act as a cushion between the vertebrae. This condition can develop as a natural part of the aging process, but it may also result from injury to the back.
Facet Joint Syndrome
This condition is a deterioration of the facet joints, which help stabilize the spine and limit excessive motion. The facet joints are lined with cartilage and are surrounded by a lubricating capsule that enables the vertebrae to bend and twist.
Herniated Disc
Between the vertebrae of your spine are soft discs. They let your spine twist and bend. They absorb shocks. But if damaged, the disc’s soft center can push through the disc wall. That’s a herniated disc. This bulge presses against nerves in your spine.
Muscle Strain of the Upper Back (Trapezius Strain)
This common injury is a stretching or tearing of the trapezius. This large muscle group spans the upper back, shoulders and neck. These muscles are commonly called the “trap” muscles.
Post-Laminectomy Syndrome
This condition, also called “failed back surgery syndrome,” is a type of chronic pain. It can develop in some people after spine surgery.
Sacroiliac Joint Pain
Your sacroiliac joints (we call them the “SI” joints) are the places where your hips meet your spine. These joints don’t have a lot of flexibility, but they do move slightly as you move your body. And if SI joints become damaged or diseased, it can be painful.
Where Lower Back Pain Begins
Lower back pain is a common problem that severely impacts the quality of your life. It can limit your ability to be active. It can cause you to miss work. Many different causes may lead to pain in your lower back.
Hip, Leg and Knee
Care and Management
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Conditions
Bursitis of the Hip (Trochanteric Bursitis)
This is an irritation or swelling of the trochanteric bursa. This small, fluid-filled sac is found on the outer side of the femur. It acts as a cushion for the iliotibial band, a thick tendon in your leg.
Joint Pain
Joint pain is a common problem for many people. It can keep you from doing the things you want to do. It can make it hard for you to be as active as you like. Let’s take a moment to learn about the causes of joint pain, and what you can do about it.
Knee Pain
Our knees take a lot of force. They support the weight of the body. They keep us upright and stable. They cushion us when we walk and run. So it’s not unusual to feel knee pain at some time in our lives. Let’s learn about knee pain, and what you can do about it.
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
This is a pain you feel in the front of your knee. It involves the patella. That’s the bone we commonly call the “kneecap.” The patella slides up and down in a groove on your femur as you bend and extend your knee. If you have this syndrome, you may have injured the soft tissues that support and cushion your kneecap. Or, you may have some damage to the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap.
Medications
Medications
Opioids and Chronic Pain Management
Opioids are a powerful class of drugs. They can control severe pain. But they often aren’t recommended for many types of chronic pain. That’s because their long-term use can cause your body to begin to depend on them.
Shoulder
Care and Management
Living With Chronic Pain
If you have pain that lasts for more than six months, you have “chronic” pain. It’s different from the temporary pain you feel when you hurt yourself. With chronic pain, you may not know why you are hurting. Your pain may affect your whole body and your mind, causing problems that ripple through every part of your life. But there is hope. Here are some tips to help you manage chronic pain.
Conditions
Joint Pain
Joint pain is a common problem for many people. It can keep you from doing the things you want to do. It can make it hard for you to be as active as you like. Let’s take a moment to learn about the causes of joint pain, and what you can do about it.
Muscle Strain of the Upper Back (Trapezius Strain)
This common injury is a stretching or tearing of the trapezius. This large muscle group spans the upper back, shoulders and neck. These muscles are commonly called the “trap” muscles.