7 Signs Your Chronic Pain Needs Specialized Treatment

About one in five adults (21%) in the United States experience chronic pain at any given time; indeed, chronic pain conditions are a top reason people seek medical care each year. 

At Interventional Pain Consultants in Parsippany, Montclair, and Landing, New Jersey, Kevin Elaahi, MD, Benjamin Kim, MD, and our expert team provide a full scope of non-surgical pain management solutions to help reduce your pain so you can get back to your active life. 

In this month’s blog, we’re taking a closer look at signs your chronic pain condition can benefit from medical treatment.

Understanding why pain happens

While pain can feel uncomfortable or even unbearable, it also alerts you that something’s wrong. Chronic pain may indicate a variety of underlying conditions, such as:

• Nervous system damage or changes that increase pain sensitivity
• Musculoskeletal pain from overuse or injury to a particular area
• Inflammatory pain from an autoimmune disease or short-term illness

Risk factors such as genetics, previous injuries, or aging may also play a part. Our team focuses on effective pain management treatments to lessen your pain and improve your quality of life.

Signs it’s time to get help for chronic pain

If your pain has become chronic, meaning it has lasted longer than three months, it’s probably best to see an expert for evaluation and interventional care. We recommend seeing our team if your pain condition involves any of the following:

1. Impaired daily functioning

If daily tasks, such as reaching, walking, working, or exercising, have become a real challenge because of your pain condition, a pain specialist can help.

2. Medication no longer works

If your pain is no longer effectively alleviated by your usual pain medication routine, something deeper may be going on. Expert evaluation and treatment is generally the best way to go.

3. Nerve pain

Conditions, such as neuropathy or sciatica, may cause tingling and numbness. It’s important to pinpoint the source before the problem worsens and becomes more difficult to treat.

4. Trouble sleeping

Losing a night’s sleep is one thing. When you toss and turn every night due to pain, it begins to affect your waking hours, too. See our team to get started toward relief — and get back to more restorative sleep.

5. Spreading pain

When your pain expands beyond its initial area, the issue may be more complex. A pain specialist identifies the source along with any secondary problems to treat you holistically.

6. Lingering pain from an injury

If pain from an injury or accident doesn’t resolve on its own, reaching out to a specialist is recommended. The longer you take a “wait-and-see” approach, the more likely your pain will become chronic.

7. Your mental health begins to suffer

Up to 45% of people living with untreated chronic pain experience depression and anxiety. Treatment from a pain specialist improves both your physical and mental well-being.

Our team provides pain management tools to diagnose and treat your problem. We also offer helpful lifestyle tips and pain medication, as needed, to help you along the way.  

Chronic pain requires individualized care

Our team utilizes non-surgical treatments, such as nerve blocks, injections, and regenerative therapies, to reduce chronic pain from fibromyalgia, arthritis, migraines, tendonitis, spinal disorders, and more. Treatment strategies include:

• Steroid injections that reduce inflammation and pain
• Nerve block injections to stop pain signals from reaching your brain
• Hyaluronic acid injections to improve range of motion and ease knee pain
• Stem cell and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to stimulate cell regeneration 
• Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using radio waves to block pain signals to your brain 
• Trigger point injections to release painful myofascial (muscle) knots 
• Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) using electrical impulses to your spinal cord

These represent only a handful of our innovative treatments. We may also suggest lifestyle adjustments, such as anti-inflammatory diets or low-impact exercises, or refer you to physical therapists to further your healing and provide long-lasting pain relief.

When time alone doesn’t heal your pain

If you’ve been experiencing ongoing back, neck, knee, or shoulder pain, or if you suffer from sciatica-related leg pain, migraines, neuropathy, or other pain-related issues, we can provide a tailored treatment plan to get you back on track. 

Call or click online to schedule an appointment at your nearest Interventional Pain Consultants office in Parsippany, Montclair, or Landing, New Jersey, today.