Pain Treatments

Note, this a brief overview of some of the treatments offered at HPA. For more detailed information, see our FAQ section, links, or contact the clinic.

Conservative care

Many pain problems will improve with ‘conservative care.’ At HPA, our approach moves a patient from more conservative care options to the more advanced treatment options based on the response to treatment. Conservative care generally consists of some period of watchful waiting, with analgesic medications for the body to heal itself. Physical therapy (PT) is often used to help the patient learn to re-use and injured or surgically repaired body part. PT can also be used to help break down scar tissue and help a patient to become more functional and able to return to activities which were previously not possible.

Injections/Nerve blocks

Many types of chronic pain conditions are aided in recovery by injection therapy- to decrease local inflammation, or allow PT to make progress, and at times breaking down scar tissue to allow for healing to progress.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)

At times, an RFA procedure may aide in a more long term nerve block of a painful area in the body- for example- the spinal facet joints can become painfully arthritic in some patients- and an RFA procedure can decrease this pain for several months-allowing PT to progress and make the patient stronger and less reliant on pain medication-thereby improving quality of life.

Pain medications

Pain medications come in many varieties and routes of administration. We have topical gels and patches, as well as pills. Often, a combination of pain medication can be individualized to improve pain control while minimizing side effects. Some categories of pain medications include: non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, anti-convulsants, anti-depressants, opioids, and muscle relaxers. In some patients, a spinal infusion of medication may be necessary to obtain satisfactory pain control.

Implantable pain control devices

Spinal stimulators and pain pumps are two implantable devices available at HPA to help control severe pain, which does not respond to more conservative care.

Minimally invasive spinal procedures

Many types of minimally invasive spinal procedures can be utilized to help control pain syndromes including percutaneous lysis of adhesions, percutaneous disc decompression, and percutaneous vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty procedures.

Ask your doctor or care team which individualized approach will be best for your type of pain.