Explained: What Is Chronic Interventional Pain And Spine Pain Management? Here's Everything You Need To Know

Chronic pain, whether from degenerative spine issues, nerve damage, joint problems, arthritis or cancer, can take a toll on one’s physical and emotional health. It can severely impact daily life by limiting movement, sleep, and overall well-being. This in turn causes severe psychological problems for those suffering from chronic pain. While medications and physiotherapy are beneficial for many, some individuals will need prompt intervention for pain management.

Here comes Interventional Pain and Spine Management, an image-guided technique using minimally invasive procedure to diagnose and treat pain, particularly in the spine and related areas. According to Kailash Kothari, Senior Consultant of Department of Interventional pain management, Gleneagles Hospital, Parel in Mumbai, these procedures aim to provide pain relief by targeting the source of the pain through precise injections, nerve blocks, or other techniques, often avoiding the need for more invasive surgeries. He says Early diagnosis and access to a specialist can help patients regain control, mobility, and comfort without heavy medication use.

What is Interventional Pain and Spine Management?

This approach also includes epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, endoscopic minimally invasive spine procedures, Vertebroplasty, Kyphoplasty Intrathecal drug delivery system and spinal cord stimulation implantation. "These treatments also help patients with severe post spine surgery pain. The aim is to reduce pain at its source, often with fewer side effects than long-term medication use," says Dr Kothari. he says that patients with conditions like herniated discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, spinal facet joints, knee and shoulder joint pain, other joint pain and trigeminal neuralgia may benefit from these treatments.

"Other common chronic pain conditions treated at pain clinics are sacroiliac joint pain, musculoskeletal or myofacial pains, hip joint, post herpetic neuralgia, and diabetic neuralgia among others," confirms the doctor.

How It Works?

The goal of interventional spine pain management is not just temporary relief. Regenerative treatments like platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow concentrate stem cells and adipose tissue stem cells give longer and more permanent relief in many chronic pain conditions. This can be knee, shoulder, tendon’s, or plantar fasciitis. However, the technique is implemented only by a pain specialist trained in anesthesiology.

Some of the advantages of this techniques are that the procedure doesn't take long. It is non-surgical and an individual can get back to work soon. "If you or someone you know suffers from long-term back or neck pain, nerve or joint pain or cancer pain, consult a pain specialist to explore modern, effective treatment options tailored to individual needs," says Dr Kothari.

However, what on needs to be aware of us that one should not ignore the suffering from chronic pain, especially in the spine, joints, or nerves as they can be notorious and can lead to severe conditions if left untreated. The procedure also has fewer side effects compared to long-term medication. "Regenerative therapies like Platelet-Rich Plasma Regeneration Therapy, PRP, and stem cell injections may offer lasting improvement. And having an expert onboard for a customised treatment plan along with lifestyle changes like posture, stress and weight management also plays a vital role in long-term pain relief and recovery," says the expert.

Read More:

1. Chronic Lower Back Pain in Your 20s and 30s? Don’t Ignore the Signs, It Could Be Ankylosing Spondylitis
2. Is Your Back Pain Something More? Learn About Most Common Spine Problems And The Treatments Doctors Recommend
3. Bad posture increases shoulder and back pain