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Overview

In America alone, more than 50 million people are living with chronic pain symptoms. These individuals suffer daily for several months to sometimes years with pain that interferes with their everyday activities. Managing chronic pain is a challenging task that requires a coordinated effort from both the suffering individual and a multitude of specialists within different disciplines.

Here at the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction, we are dedicated to helping you manage your pain through opioid-free, non-surgical, and surgical treatment plans. Our resident pain management specialist, Dr. Nicole Ferro, works directly with our reconstructive surgeons to diagnose your pain and treat it at the source.

pain-management-full-body

Symptoms

Pain can manifest in a variety of different ways throughout the body. Rather than masking your symptoms, our goal is to develop a treatment plan that offers long-term relief. Our Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services department specializes in:

Neck Pain 
Neck pain can be minor or major, depending on the severity of the symptoms. If you or someone you know experiences neck pain that is accompanied by numbness or weakness in the extremities or shooting pain in the shoulders or arms, contact our office as soon as possible.

Back Pain
While the term “back pain” is used to cover a wide variety of symptoms associated with the spinal region, back pain is often completely treatable with a select few methods or rehabilitation. Some issues with back pain are more severe than others. If you or someone you know is experiencing trouble urinating, weakness, fever, or weight loss in addition to back pain, contact our office as soon as possible.

Joint Pain
Joint pain is extremely common and can be caused by numerous conditions. More serious causes of joint pain include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, gout, and strains/sprains.

CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome)
CRPS is a chronic pain that usually affects an arm or a leg. The condition is uncommon, but most diagnoses occur following a traumatic event such as an injury, surgery, a heart attack, or a stroke. Remission is possible in cases where CRPS is caught early.

Myofascial Pain
Myofascial pain is a chronic disorder that applies pressure on the trigger points of an individual’s muscles, causing pain on the muscle itself as well as pain in seemingly unrelated areas of the body. If muscle pain persists or worsens over a long period of time, we can identify the source of the pain and help alleviate symptoms.

Pelvic Pain
There are many known causes for pelvic pain. Among the most common are issues with an individual’s digestive, urinary, or reproductive systems, irritated nerves, and various forms of cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

Neuropathic Pain
Neuropathic pain is pain that results from damage to - or cold compression of - the nerves outside of the spinal cord and brain. Symptoms of neuropathy vary, but commonly involve tingling or numbness in the extremities, dizziness, and fatigue. Neuropathy is extremely common in diabetics. If you or someone you know is experiencing persistent neuropathic pain, make an appointment with a specialist.

Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy (also known as a pinched nerve) is injury or damage to nerve roots in the area where they leave the spine. This can occur in all people and typically follows disc degeneration, herniation, or another sort of trauma. Symptoms include tingling or numbness in feet or hands, weakness in shoulders, neck pain, and a loss of sensation or motor function.

Phantom Limb Pain (PLP)
Phantom limb pain is the sensation of an individual experiencing pain in a limb that is no longer a part of their body. Phantom limb pain often follows a surgical procedure. Treatment for phantom limb pain is complex, however our team of specialists are highly-experienced in addressing these challenging cases.

Causes & Risk Factors

The sensation of pain can be physical or psychological. In some cases, the cause of pain is modifiable through self-management and lifestyle changes. In others, pain requires more advanced treatment.

Modifiable factors that can increase the risk of chronic pain include:

  • Smoking
  • Alcohol
  • Obesity
  • Physical Activity
  • Nutrition
  • Occupation

Non-modifiable factors include:

  • Age
  • Sex
  • Cultural Background
  • Medical History
  • Genetics

Diagnosing Chronic Pain

The first step to effective pain management is understanding its underlying cause. We offer several advanced diagnostic tests that can help us identify the source of your pain, including:

  • Blood Tests
  • Bone Scans
  • MRIs:
  • CT Scans:
  • X-Rays:
  • Nerve Blocks
  • Spinal Cord Stimulation Trials

Treatments for Pain Management

Dr. Ferro is able to provide comprehensive treatment by working closely with our plastic and reconstructive surgeons to appropriately diagnose and manage complex nerve pathway problems. This uniquely powerful alliance allows us to coordinate neuralgia-specialized, world-class care that patients often cannot find in other hospitals and care centers.

Non-invasive or minimally-invasive procedures include:

Epidural Steroid Injections: an extremely effective and safe way to minimize spinal pain that radiates through the arms and legs.

Facet Joint Injections: combat arthritic pain points by targeting specific areas of the body and injecting them with a treated, fine needle.

Radiofrequency Ablations: targets the medial branch nerves with small probes to eliminate the nerve’s ability to tell your brain that it is experiencing pain.

Spinal Cord Stimulation: interrupts pain signals transmitted by nerves in the spinal column and prevents them from communicating the experience of discomfort to the brain.

Lysis of Adhesions: a procedure that eliminates excess, damaging scar tissue that typically occurs after multiple surgeries.

Peripheral Joint Injections: injections that target the peripheral joints (joints in the arms and legs) to mitigate pain brought on by conditions such as arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and others.

Tendon Sheath / Bursa Injections: injections utilized to treat pain in tendons and joints.

Botox for Migraines: an injection of Onabotulinum toxinA (Botox) to various muscles around the head to alleviate migraine frequency.

If conservative treatments fail to deliver relief, we also offer a host of surgical procedures that may be more effective at addressing your pain, including:

  • Nerve decompression surgery for diabetic neuropathy
  • Pudendal nerve decompression surgery for chronic pelvic pain
  • Brachial plexus reconstruction for shoulder or arm pain
  • Free periosteal core decompression for avascular necrosis
  • Nerve decompression surgery for migraines and headaches
  • Joint denervation surgery (neurectomy) for joint pain
  • Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) surgery for phantom limb pain
  • Microsurgical denervation of the spermatic cord for chronic testicular pain

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