Your nerves send signals to your brain to tell it when something hurts. If, for example, you accidentally touch a hot pan, the nerves in your fingers register the sensation and send a signal to your brain, then your brain triggers your muscles to yank your hand away.
But sometimes, for a number of different reasons, the neural signals aren’t helpful. The constant pain signals result in chronic pain.
At Osteopathic Center for Healing, Neil Spiegel, DO, and Jennifer Gularson, PA-C, help our patients who struggle with chronic pain. In some instances, treating the nerve is the best approach. One way we do that is with perineural injection therapy.
In this post, we describe four types of pain that we can ease with perineural injection therapy. It could be the right treatment for you.
The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which involves degeneration of the cartilage in the affected joint. There’s no cure for osteoarthritis, though some treatments can slow the progression of the joint degeneration.
One important part of slowing down arthritis is appropriate — regular exercise, which can be extremely difficult if you’re in pain. You don’t really want to go for a walk when your knee is swollen and painful.
Perineural injection therapy could reduce your pain so you can exercise, or even climb the stairs in your house.
Overuse injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, or any number of forms of tendinitis — runner’s knee and tennis elbow, for example — are extremely common. If you have a job that requires you to make the same motion again and again, you’re at risk of developing an overuse injury.
Typically, overuse injuries involve damage to soft tissues. Tendons may fray or tear, muscles may become chronically strained, and in all cases, inflammation is involved and nerves are irritated.
Perineural injection therapy can calm the irritated nerve, and that results in pain relief. You may still need to rest the injured body part or do some sort of physical therapy or other treatments, but calming the irritation and inflammation allows you to do what you need to do as you heal.
Whether you’re an aging weekend warrior or your athletic pursuits are more professional, you’re at risk of a sports injury. Sports injuries can be overuse injuries, or they may involve torn tendons or ligaments, strained muscles, or traumatic injury. Mostly, soft tissue damage occurs.
Sprained ankles are quite common. Athletes are more likely than others to return to activity before a sprained ankle is fully healed, and that can result in chronic ankle instability and chronic pain. In this case, perineural injection therapy could be useful in treating a sports injury.
When it seems like you might need painkillers for a long period of time, consider perineural injection therapy, and that includes after having surgery. Perineural injection therapy manages pain without the risk of addiction or other side effects.
When it comes to pain, your experience is as unique as you are. No one experiences pain in the same way, and not every method of pain management works for all patients.
Work with a highly trained provider who is versed in numerous approaches to treating pain, such as our staff at Osteopathic Center for Healing in Rockville, Maryland. Call to schedule your appointment today to get personalized guidance on appropriate treatments for your pain.
