If you’ve been living with chronic pain, chances are someone has mentioned pain injections at some point, but for many people, the idea of an injection into their spine or joints sounds intimidating. Unfortunately, misinformation online only adds to the fear.
Our team of double board-certified pain management physicians and anesthesiologists offers pain injections to help reduce inflammation, soothe irritated nerves, and even improve function in arthritic joints. For the right person, they can be an important part of a comprehensive pain management plan.
This month, the Trinity Pain Medicine Associates team is here to debunk three common myths about pain injections.
Many people are surprised to learn that most pain injections are much more tolerable than they expected.
Your Trinity Pain Medicine Associates provider may use:
You may feel pressure or temporary discomfort during the procedure, but most injections are completed quickly.
Remember: the whole goal of a pain injection is to help manage chronic pain — not add on to your pain burden!
Pain injections do more than temporarily “cover up” your pain. Depending on which treatment you choose, your pain injection may help reduce inflammation and even improve how your body functions.
For example, corticosteroid injections can simultaneously alleviate pain and reduce inflammation. Reducing pain can also help you move more comfortably and participate more fully in your physical therapy (if recommended as part of your comprehensive pain management plan).
This leads to a cascade of benefits: if you feel well enough to participate in your physical therapy, you’re better able to complete your exercise and regain functionality.
At Trinity Pain Medicine Associates, we also offer regenerative medicine treatments, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), and amniotic stem cell therapies.
Unlike traditional injections that primarily focus on pain relief, regenerative therapies are designed to support your body’s natural healing and repair processes. So, they aren’t technically “pain injections,” but they do help with long-term pain management.
Not all pain injections are the same, and when people say “pain injection,” they may actually be referring to several very different treatments, including:
Each injection is intended to address a different source of pain, which is why one injection may work well for one condition but not another. For example, you may need an epidural steroid injection to help with spine-related pain, but if you have muscle pain, you’d be better off with a trigger point injection.
If one treatment doesn’t provide enough relief, Ashley M Classen, DO, FAOCA, Ashley Bailey-Classen, DO, MBA, FAOCA, or Eva J Bailey, MD, may recommend a different type of injection or another treatment approach entirely. Pain management is highly individualized, which is why we start every treatment plan with a comprehensive evaluation in our Fort Worth, Texas, office.
You might consider pain injections if you have:
Most pain injection procedures are performed in an outpatient setting and take only a short time to complete.
Depending on the injection, our team may use imaging guidance such as fluoroscopy or ultrasound to guide the injection. This makes sure that the medication you need goes exactly where you need it.
Afterward, you return home the same day.
Fear and misinformation shouldn’t stop you from exploring treatment options that may help improve your quality of life.
Schedule a consultation with our team at Trinity Pain Medicine Associates today to learn whether pain injections may be right for you.
Call 817-332-3664 or click to get started.
