lequebecfume
08-21-2009, 06:26 AM
Healthbeat:
New help available for patients with chronic pain
August 20, 2009
There is new hope on the horizon for some chronic pain sufferers thanks to new procedures that utilize the latest in technological advances to bring about much needed relief.
Low back pain is especially common among patients who experience chronic pain. In fact, 85 percent of the population will suffer from low back pain at least once in their lifetime. Of those patients, 60 percent will get well with or without treatment in six days. Ninety percent of patients will get well within six weeks. For the remaining 10 percent of the population, medical treatments can be tailored from the least invasive to the more invasive approaches. Pain medication, physical therapy, trigger point injections, epidurals and facet joint injections are among the options that may bring relief.
Facet Joint Fusion
This is a new procedure offering hope to patients whose back pain hasn't responded to more conservative measures. This new approach treats patients without surgical intervention, provides stabilization to the spine and prevents re-injury even after other surgeries such as microdiskectomy. This minimally invasive technique heals the joints together naturally rather than holding them together with screws and metal rods. Special allograft dowels (made from donated tissue and bone) are used to stabilize the spine while limiting the range of motion and stimulating the body's natural healing response. Patients who have undergone facet joint fusion are often elated with the results, some having finally found relief from their pain for the first time in 15 years.
Plasma Disc Decompression
This is another new option for back and neck pain patients who have not responded to conservative care. This minimally invasive surgery helps to heal herniated disks and compression fractures in the spine from the inside. The procedure, performed under local anesthesia, makes a small pathway into the injured disk and places a special surgical device into the port at the center of the disc, thereby removing the nucleus tissue of the disc so that it can no longer irritate the nearby nerve root. Patients experience no post-surgical pain, need no hospital stay and can return to work within two days. The procedure has now been used successfully for more than 10 years in millions of cases and is becoming a leading choice for minimally invasive disc decompression for patients who have failed conservative care and are not candidates for major surgery.
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
This is also useful for patients who have chronic pain from headache and atypical facial pain. It is a neurostimulation technique in which an electrical current is applied to the peripheral nerves to ameliorate chronic pain. Clinical studies have shown that most patients receiving neurostimulation pain therapy received good to excellent pain relief. As many as 95 percent of patients in some studies indicated an improvement in their overall rating of pain relief. Some patients with Trigeminal Nerve Neuralgia have found relief through Peripheral Nerve Stimulation. One patient, now 37, has had headaches since the age of 14 and was finally pain-free after the procedure. It offers an excellent alternative for many headache patients who have been unable to manage their pain with other more conservative methods.
There is much reason for optimism among patients who have chronic pain. In addition to the above-named procedures, there are a broad base of minimally invasive procedures to help patients including steroid injections, lumbar radio frequency rhizotomy, spinal cord stimulation, blood patches and stellate ganglion block. Patients with a wide range of conditions are being helped -- from those with hip pain to shingles, and for those seeking relief from cancer pain to fibromyalgia. The good news is that most patients with chronic pain can get relief and should seek out the assistance of a pain specialist today.
Dr. Ahmed Elborno is medical director of Adventist Hinsdale Hospital's Pain Center of Excellence. He is an interventional pain practitioner specializing in minimally invasive spinal procedures.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakezurich/news/1716028,doings-healthbeat-082009-s1.article
--LEQ
this 30 year chronic pain patient HIGHLY recommends Medical Cannabis over any minimally invasive procedures, AS THEY HURT LIKE A BEJEBUS!!!!!!!!
While Cannabis has never hurt, maimed, or killed anyone EVER !
New help available for patients with chronic pain
August 20, 2009
There is new hope on the horizon for some chronic pain sufferers thanks to new procedures that utilize the latest in technological advances to bring about much needed relief.
Low back pain is especially common among patients who experience chronic pain. In fact, 85 percent of the population will suffer from low back pain at least once in their lifetime. Of those patients, 60 percent will get well with or without treatment in six days. Ninety percent of patients will get well within six weeks. For the remaining 10 percent of the population, medical treatments can be tailored from the least invasive to the more invasive approaches. Pain medication, physical therapy, trigger point injections, epidurals and facet joint injections are among the options that may bring relief.
Facet Joint Fusion
This is a new procedure offering hope to patients whose back pain hasn't responded to more conservative measures. This new approach treats patients without surgical intervention, provides stabilization to the spine and prevents re-injury even after other surgeries such as microdiskectomy. This minimally invasive technique heals the joints together naturally rather than holding them together with screws and metal rods. Special allograft dowels (made from donated tissue and bone) are used to stabilize the spine while limiting the range of motion and stimulating the body's natural healing response. Patients who have undergone facet joint fusion are often elated with the results, some having finally found relief from their pain for the first time in 15 years.
Plasma Disc Decompression
This is another new option for back and neck pain patients who have not responded to conservative care. This minimally invasive surgery helps to heal herniated disks and compression fractures in the spine from the inside. The procedure, performed under local anesthesia, makes a small pathway into the injured disk and places a special surgical device into the port at the center of the disc, thereby removing the nucleus tissue of the disc so that it can no longer irritate the nearby nerve root. Patients experience no post-surgical pain, need no hospital stay and can return to work within two days. The procedure has now been used successfully for more than 10 years in millions of cases and is becoming a leading choice for minimally invasive disc decompression for patients who have failed conservative care and are not candidates for major surgery.
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
This is also useful for patients who have chronic pain from headache and atypical facial pain. It is a neurostimulation technique in which an electrical current is applied to the peripheral nerves to ameliorate chronic pain. Clinical studies have shown that most patients receiving neurostimulation pain therapy received good to excellent pain relief. As many as 95 percent of patients in some studies indicated an improvement in their overall rating of pain relief. Some patients with Trigeminal Nerve Neuralgia have found relief through Peripheral Nerve Stimulation. One patient, now 37, has had headaches since the age of 14 and was finally pain-free after the procedure. It offers an excellent alternative for many headache patients who have been unable to manage their pain with other more conservative methods.
There is much reason for optimism among patients who have chronic pain. In addition to the above-named procedures, there are a broad base of minimally invasive procedures to help patients including steroid injections, lumbar radio frequency rhizotomy, spinal cord stimulation, blood patches and stellate ganglion block. Patients with a wide range of conditions are being helped -- from those with hip pain to shingles, and for those seeking relief from cancer pain to fibromyalgia. The good news is that most patients with chronic pain can get relief and should seek out the assistance of a pain specialist today.
Dr. Ahmed Elborno is medical director of Adventist Hinsdale Hospital's Pain Center of Excellence. He is an interventional pain practitioner specializing in minimally invasive spinal procedures.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lakezurich/news/1716028,doings-healthbeat-082009-s1.article
--LEQ
this 30 year chronic pain patient HIGHLY recommends Medical Cannabis over any minimally invasive procedures, AS THEY HURT LIKE A BEJEBUS!!!!!!!!
While Cannabis has never hurt, maimed, or killed anyone EVER !