Tag Archives: pain management scottsdale

Long Term Study Shows High BMI a Risk Factor for Low Back Pain

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An 11 year study recently completed showed that being overweight or obese are predisposing factors for the development of chronic low back pain. The study was revelation in that those who developed low back pain did not have the presence of the pain at the beginning of the study. This means the extra weight lead to the back pain, which is a breakthrough finding.Pain Clinic Chandler

The researchers out of Norway were able to show definitively that a high body mass index was a risk factor for low back pain. They had a very high number of participants, over 25,000, and were able to use statistical analysis to rule out other risk factors.

The study population was extremely large and had over 14,000 women in over 11,000 men aged 30 to 70 years old. The risk factors that were also looked at included age, smoking, blood pressure, work status, education and physical activity. Not only was there a strong correlation between high body mass index and low back pain, there was also a correlation between recurrent low back pain among women.

In previous studies, it was unclear which problem came first. It could’ve been either low back pain causing a person to develop a high body mass index or vice versa. By studying such a large amount of patients for over a decade, they were able to definitively show that it is in fact the high body mass index that leads to low back pain and the recurrence of that pain.

If you are suffering from low back pain, let Arizona Pain Specialists help you. The Phoenix pain clinics offer comprehensive treatment including medication Pain doctors in Phoenix management, interventional pain management, acupuncture, chiropractic, spinal decompression therapy, physical rehabilitation and more. Over 50 insurance plans are accepted.

Call (602) 507-6550 today.

6 Ways to Avoid Surgery for Spinal Stenosis

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As people age, pain can result in the legs due to spinal stenosis. This refers to spinal arthritis over growing areas and pinching on spinal nerves as they tried to leave the spinal Spinal Stenosis Treatmentcanal. It’s one of the most common diagnoses as an individual in the 50 to 85 age range develops pain in the lower extremities.

Once the diagnosis is made and is deemed not to be a vascular issue, the question is how to avoid surgery for symptomatic spinal stenosis. The surgery that is done to relieve the pain is called a laminectomy and is purely an elective procedure.

Here are the 7 most effective ways to treat stenosis to avoid going under the knife.

1. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatories and Tylenol. This sounds very simple and it is. These medications are low risk when taken according to manufacturer’s recommended dosing. In addition, they can be extremely effective for mild to moderate symptoms of spinal stenosis. As a nerve roots gets pinched from the overgrown tissue with arthritis, inflammation can result, which is what the anti-inflammatories can reduce.

2. Physical therapy. PT can be extremely helpful for reducing stenosis pain,

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Physical therapy can be great for spinal stenosis symptoms.

strengthening up the muscles in the back, along with core strengthening, flexibility and relieving pressure on nerves. In addition, there are treatments including electrical stimulation and ultrasound which may also relieve symptoms.

3. Chiropractic treatment. While not a permanent solution, spinal stenosis can be helped with Phoenix chiropractor manipulations. This may temporarily decompress nerve roots and hence reduce pain.

4. Spinal decompression therapy. This treatment became FDA cleared back in the late 1990s and involves intermittent spinal traction. Continuous spinal traction has been shown not to be helpful for spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease. However, individuals with spinal stenosis often can obtain 3 to 6 months of pain relief with a series of decompression therapy.

The treatment is noninvasive and most individuals fall asleep during the treatments as it is Pain Doctors in Phoenixnot painful.

5. Additional medications. Pain management doctors in Arizona may treat stenosis with medications including nerve membrane stabilizers such as Lyrica or Neurontin. It is unclear how these medicines work, but they can help a lot with sciatica type pain from stenosis. For periods of acute exacerbation, narcotics may be indicated to relieve bad symptoms. Over the long-term, the risks start to outweigh the benefits however.

6. Epidural steroid injections. These have long been a gold standard treatment for spinal stenosis treatment. The injection places cortisone medication around the inflamed nerve roots. Phoenix pain clinic

Modern Arizona pain management involves the usage of fluoroscopy, which is a real-time form of x-ray for increased accuracy. There are multiple different ways of performing epidural injections, including intralaminar epidurals, transforaminal epidurals or caudal injections. A person may need a series of injections to obtain maximum pain relief, and this can be repeated every few months.

If you or a loved one is experiencing spinal stenosis type symptoms, help is available. Arizona Pain Specialists offers comprehensive pain treatments for spinal stenosis, which are performed by an Award Winning team of Board Certified pain management doctors Phoenix pain doctorsand chiropractors. There are 4 locations throughout the Valley, including a new Phoenix pain clinic.

Arizona Pain accepts over 50 different insurances. The clinics have Arizona pain doctors accepting Medicare, Medicaid, major medical, Personal Injury, Worker’s Compensation and self pay. For more information and scheduling, call (602) 507-6550 today!

Four Effective Pain Management Procedures for Low Back Pain

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There is at least an eight out of 10 chance that you will experience low back pain at some point during your life. Currently, approximately 20% of individuals are experiencing back Back Pain Treatment Phoenixpain right now. So it is an extremely common condition, and most of the time it goes away without any treatment. However, for those who end up with chronic back pain, here are four minimally invasive pain management treatments to achieve pain relief while avoiding risky surgery.

1. Facet Injection

The first is a steroid injection into the painful facet joints. The facet joints are the thumbnail size joints at each level of the spine on both sides. They may suffer from arthritis and pain with age.

When a facet injection is performed, a Phoenix pain management doctor will use fluoroscopy, a real-time form of x-ray, to place the needle inside the facet joint. Once accurate placement is achieved, steroid medication along with numbing medicine is injected, similar to how an injection is performed in the hip or the knee joint. This injection is performed as an outpatient and each level takes just a few minutes. A recent review from Pain Physician showed that there is a fair amount of research that backs up the effectiveness of facet injections directly into the joint.

2. Medial Branch Block

Each joint in the spine receives sensation, and that is how it is able to feel pain. The nerve supply comes from medial branch nerve endings, and that is what the injection is designed Medial Branch Blockto block. The first purpose of a medial branch block is to help the pain doctor understand where exactly the pain generator is in the spine.

Thankfully, a medial branch injection works very well for this diagnostic purpose. In addition, the review in Pain Physician showed that the medial branch block also works well as a therapeutic injection for pain relief. The average duration of pain relief with a medial branch block injection is four months. When these injections are performed, the needle does not actually enter the facet joint, but is placed into areas just behind the joint where the medial branches enter.

When the medial branch block wears off and the pain returns, it can easily be repeated with the expectation that similar pain relief will be achieved subsequently.

3. Radiofrequency Ablation

This procedure has been a godsend in pain management, as the amount of pain relief achieved is substantial and the duration may be upwards of two years. If a regular medial branch injection procedure works well and then wears off, radiofrequency ablation Radiofrequency Ablationprocedures often alleviate the pain for 6 to 18 months. This can lessen the need for narcotic medications, get a patient back to work, and overall has been a revolutionary technology.

Multiple studies have looked at outcomes with RFA procedures. If the pain relief wears off, a repeat RF procedure has almost the same effect as the initial with excellent pain relief for an extended duration

4. Sacroiliac Joint Injection

When you look at where back pain comes from, almost 20% of the time it is coming from one of the sacroiliac joints. It’s almost like the proverbial forgotten stepchild, where it may be seen as an afterthought as a pain generator in the low back. However, it is so common to have referred pain into the low back from a sacroiliac joint problem that it should always be evaluated.

For those individuals who have suspected pain in the sacroiliac joint, then an injection into

SI Joint Radiofrequency

SI Joint Radiofrequency

the joint can be performed as an outpatient. Pain management doctors in Arizona should use fluoroscopy for this procedure, as these joints are irregular in shape and may be difficult to enter properly.

For a successful sacroiliac injection, it may be necessary to use separate entry points to achieve adequate penetration. If the injection works and then wears off, it is becoming more common to perform an SI joint radiofrequency ablation to obtain extended relief. A study presented last year at a major pain meeting showed over 50% pain relief from three to six months with these procedures

These four procedures and provide exceptional pain relief for those with chronic low back pain. Undergoing low back surgery for spinal arthritis is a risky proposition, so the pain relief can be achieved with one of these options it is ideal. In fact, most of the time it can be for an extended duration.

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If you or a loved one is experiencing chronic back pain in the greater Phoenix & Scottsdale areas, let Arizona Pain Specialists help you. The Phoenix pain clinics offer assistance at four Valley locations, including Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale and Chandler.

For one number scheduling, call (602) 507-6550 today!