When in severe chronic pain, medications taken orally are sometimes not enough to curb the pain that our patients feel. In these situations, we often suggest pain injections to treat chronic pain.
When we talk about pain shots or pain injections, we are referring to a process where pain medicine is injected directly into where it is needed most in your body. X-rays and other imaging techniques are used to target the areas where injections are needed most.
Which medicine is best for the pain you are feeling will be decided by your doctor based on what is causing your pain, how often you feel it, and where it is located in the body. A combination of steroids and painkillers are often used together. Local anesthetics can be used to numb the nerve or muscle group experiencing the pain. Steroids can help to reduce the amount of inflammation, which will lower pain.
Different types of pain shots:
Nerve Root Blocks
blocking off the nerve root can effectively stop your brain from experiencing pain. We generally target nerves along the spine. The nerves in the spine can lead to pain in almost any area of the body like the arms and legs.
Epidural Steroid Injections
When you are in pain due to disc issues like a herniated disc, epidural steroid injections can be used on the outer part of the spine.
Trigger Point Injections
Trigger point injections are used in small spaces in the muscles. Sometimes these small spaces are so tight that they squeeze nerves. This can lead to pain in other parts of the body.
Chronic pain shots do not always remove the pain completely. Sometimes multiple visits are needed. Sometimes it is not possible to completely remove pain, only to reduce it.
How long will results last?
Typically, you will feel relief from pain after pain shots for up to a year. Just like injectables in the cosmetic space, pain injections are also temporary. It will depend on the type of pain, the part of the body, and how advanced your pain issues are. You could need multiple visits and a series of shots for the results to last long term.
Pain Professionals in Atlanta
If you are in need of a pain doctor in Atlanta, give us a call. We have a staff ready to go over the kinds of pain issues you are experiencing and how we can best treat them. Whether your approach is pain injections or any other that is needed, we can give you the help you need to reduce daily pain.