Neurolytic therapy, for the appropriate patient, may result in significant improvement of quality of life and possibly improved function. Few other interventional pain therapies have such extreme risk/benefit profiles requiring targeted patient selection and meticulous procedural technique. Evaluating neurolysis as…
The 2011 report from the United States Institute of Medicine concluded that pain care should be tailored to each person’s experience and that self-management should be promoted as a central strategy to improve care. The importance of self-management was again…
Integrative Medicine: Overview Integrative Medicine is a philosophy of care that integrates conventional allopathic medical therapies with modalities not typically included in conventional care and addresses the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient. This field of medicine is…
Key Points Interdisciplinary care of patients with chronic pain has proven to be of significant value. A collaborative relationship between patients and rehabilitation professionals is essential to enhance successful outcomes. The pain management treatment plan must be tailored to the…
~ A rehabilitation approach utilizes a combination of person-centered, non-pharmacologic, and pharmacologic strategies for pain management. A number of different healthcare practitioners participate and can provide rehabilitation to the patient, including physicians who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain…
Psychological interventions for managing individuals experiencing chronic pain include a wide range of approaches and therapeutic targets. They are based on several theoretical perspectives. This chapter will first provide an overview of the basic principles and backgrounds on which psychological…
In contrast to the use of a systemic analgesic, the use of a topical analgesic may result in pain relief without the requirement for notable systemic absorption. In certain situations, and with specific agents (i.e. nitroglycerine, fentanyl, clonidine), transdermal application…
Key Points The endocannabinoid system is a complex biologic system composed of endogenous CBR and their respective agonists. It is involved in the regulation of multiple physiologic and cognitive processes in the human body to maintain homeostasis. Endocannabinoids are endogenous…
Key Points There are three broad classes of muscle relaxants: antispasmodic, antispasticity, and combination agents. Muscle relaxants may treat muscle spasticity in two manners. First, they can modify the stretch reflex arc, either by reducing the excitatory signals or by…
Treatment of chronic pain involves understanding the delicate interplay of nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic mechanisms involved in any given pain syndrome’s pathophysiology. Research into the underlying pathways for chronic pain has provided the mechanistic basis to utilize numerous non-opioid medications…