Men and women living with chronic pain deserve to know that there are many, many options available to improve your quality of life by reducing or eliminating your chronic pain. Even better, not all of these treatments require that you take daily prescription or over the counter medication. For some individuals, non-surgical treatments such as special injections may work wonders in reducing or eliminating pain.

What Types of Injections Are Available for Pain?

There are a variety of injections commonly used to treat pain. One of the most commonly used is a steroid injection. When used to treat pain in the back and spine, these injections are called epidural steroid injections, because the steroid is injected into the epidural space of the spinal column.

For orthopedic injuries to the shoulder, knee, hip, etc., steroid injections may also be used as a pain reliever and is generally just called a “cortisone injection.” Steroid injections work by reducing inflammation, which is causing pain. Individuals who receive steroid injections report varying degrees of relief. For some, the shot may work very well, and offer the individual months of reduced or eliminated pain. However, each individual will respond differently, so some individuals may not experience the same relief. It is important to note however, that cortisone injections are a temporary solution, and not recommended as a frequent, long term solution.

A second type of injection that may help reduce or eliminate your pain is known as a nerve block. These injections deliver anesthesia to specific nerves, to disrupt pain signals before they reach the brain. Used to treat inflamed nerves, these injections can offer a lot of insight into pain without a known cause, as relief from this type of shot, indicates that specific nerves are irritated. Examples of types of nerve blocks include intercostal nerve blocks, hypogastric plexus block, splanchnic nerve block, celiac plexus block, stellate ganglion block, occipital nerve block, ganglion impar block, lumbar sympathetic block, and suprascapular nerve block.

Trigger point injections which are also sometimes called joint injections generally inject a mixture of anesthetics such as lidocaine and/or corticosteroids. These injections deliver medication right to the joint to reduce pain by numbing the area and/or reducing inflammation.

Will an Injection Treat My Pain?

When it comes to treating chronic pain, you may find relief from the very first treatment that is tried. But many men and women may need to try several different approaches before finding the solution, or combination of therapies that will work. The challenge in treating pain lies in the fact that in many cases, there is no known cause. Imaging tests can be helpful to identify obvious problems. However, in other cases, pain may arise with no known cause, which makes determining which treatment will help you the very first time, a challenge.

The good news is that injections, often coupled with exercise, physical therapy, and other treatments often has a good result for patients, where such an injection is indicated. An additional benefit they offer is that they are far less risky than surgery, requiring little to no recovery period.

If you're dealing with chronic pain, Dr. Ryan Peterson is here to help. As a Board-Certified Pain Management Specialist in Los Angeles, he works to create custom pain management care plans for each patient.

Contact Dr. Peterson today to schedule a consultation, at 818-200-8192.