Acute and Chronic Pain Management

Multimodal Pain Management uses the latest medications and technology to safely deliver pain relief to the patient.

One approach includes computerized infusion (pumping) devices that deliver safe, precise, carefully timed doses of pain medication. In the hospital, patients can control bedside pumps by pushing a button when acute or surgical pain becomes uncomfortable. For chronic pain, infusion pumps can be implanted in the patient's body.

Other methods to manage chronic pain include:

Nerve Block - Stopping pain signals that travel through nerves with local anesthetics or other methods can effectively treat pain. Nerve conduction is blocked temporarily with local injections. This can stop pain, reduce swelling, decrease muscle spasms or improve the ability to move.

Non-Narcotic Analgesic Medications - Anti-inflammatory drugs reduce swelling, anti-spasmodics  relax muscles and anti-seizure medications control pain from damaged nerves by resetting nerve conduction thresholds.

Electric Stimulation - Low-intensity electrical nerve stimulation can sometimes treat chronic (ongoing) pain problems by decreasing pain signals to the brain.

Physical Therapy - Physical therapy, including stretching and strengthening exercises, whirlpool, massage and other therapies can improve range of motion (ability to move arms and legs) and help break the chronic pain cycle.

Surgery - On rare occasions, surgical treatment may be suggested for long-term improvement of selected chronic pain conditions.