It is pretty normal to have some pain after any surgery, but doctors always make sure the pain is kept at a minimum and that it is not excruciating so that patients can have a more comfortable recovery.
Pain control is usually planned by you and your care team before surgery is scheduled. A pain management doctor is an invaluable part of any surgery patient’s team of healthcare providers.
With effective postoperative pain control, you are not only more comfortable, but you can also have a faster recovery.
Let’s talk about how a pain management doctor can help you relieve your pain after surgery and where you can go in Rochester Hills for effective pain management and comprehensive healthcare.
Treatment Options Offered by a Pain Management Doctor
Pain management doctors specialize in pain and offer interventional pain treatment methods that are not typically offered by other physicians. It turns out that pain medication is not the only way to manage pain after surgery. Some medications (such as opioids) used to treat pain develop a dependency, and pain management doctors offer alternative ways to manage postoperative pain for lasting pain relief and to reduce or eliminate the risk of dependency on pain medication, known as interventional pain management.
Interventional pain management is the use of pain-blocking techniques to manage pain and target the pain at its source. Epidural steroid injections and nerve block injections are some examples of interventional pain treatments.
- Epidural steroid injections involve delivering cortisone and anesthetic into the epidural space of the spine. Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone that relieves inflammation which compresses nerves, causing them to send pain signals to the brain. Epidural steroid injections can provide symptomatic relief from pain to a much broader area of the body.
- Nerve blocks, a combination of cortisone and anesthetic, are injected around specific nerve roots as they exit the spinal column. Hence, the procedure is also called selective nerve root blocks. However, since nerve blocks target specific nerves, pain relief is confined to a smaller area of the body.
Managing pain after surgery usually involves a combination of different methods. If you are interested in interventional pain management procedures for postoperative relief, make sure to choose a doctor who is highly experienced in the procedure.
Post-Surgery Pain Management in Rochester Hills, Bad Axe, and Lapeer, Michigan
If you are looking for comprehensive, individualized, and patient-centric care, visit Ahlgren Spine. Dr. Bradley D. Ahlgren is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who ensures each patient is provided non-surgical options for managing their pain. He typically recommends surgery as a last resort and usually recommends patients with post-surgery pain interventional pain management techniques for more options for pain relief.
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Ahlgren, call our clinic today at (248) 215-8080 or use our convenient online request form.
We look forward to serving you!
