What is pain management?
Our integrated pain service focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of painful conditions. This includes musculoskeletal pain (from joints and muscles) and pain from damaged nerves. Timely treatment can prevent pain from escalating and becoming chronic, and therefore reduce the need for surgical intervention.
In order to make an accurate diagnosis and offer effective treatment, our pain consultants will regularly liaise with specialists from other surgical and medical areas such as spinal surgery, rheumatology (joints) and neurology (nerves).
Treatment of your pain is often further enhanced by physiotherapy and alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, may be considered where appropriate.
Ready to book now? Get in touch to discuss your needs and decide on the best course of treatment for you.
Ready to book now? Get in touch to discuss your needs and decide on the best course of treatment for you.
Acute pain
Acute pain can occur as a result of an injury, illness or medical procedure.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain is ongoing or recurrent pain, usually lasting for six months or more.
Reasons to see a pain management specialist
People suffer from many varied types of pain, which can fall into a number of different categories. You may like to get the opinion of a pain management specialist if you experience:
- Lower back pain
- Neck pain, including whiplash
- Leg pain, including sciatica
- Headaches
- Facial pain
- Nerve pain – including chronic pain after surgery, phantom pain, trigeminal neuralgia and pain after shingles.
Benefits of seeing a pain management consultant
You will benefit from:
- Initial consultation with a specialist pain consultant for a full diagnostic assessment of your condition
- Fast access to diagnostic tests including x-ray, ultrasound and MRI (where appropriate)
- Review of your current medication
- Personalised treatment plan
- Fast access and referral on to other specialist consultants and physiotherapists where necessary to continue your treatment and care
- Re-assessment consultation with your specialist pain consultant.
Pain management treatment
Depending on the nature and severity of your pain, we provide a wide range of treatment options and pain management techniques — from pain relieving medication, injections and nerve blocks to physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychological support.
Whatever your condition, our pain management experts are dedicated to improving your comfort, supporting your recovery and helping you get back to the activities you enjoy.
Joint injections and nerve blocks
Your consultant may recommend a joint injection or a nerve block. These can be diagnostic (giving up to three months’ benefit) or therapeutic (treating the nerve supply) providing longer-term relief.
Some injections are carried out in the outpatient clinic, but most patients are treated in a dedicated pain clinic theatre as a day case procedure. The typical length of stay is 2 to 4 hours. Fasting for up to 6 hours may be necessary, as patients will be offered sedation for certain types of procedure (your consultant will discuss this with you in detail before your procedure).
PRP and autologous blood injections
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) Injections and autologous blood Injections can be used to treat damaged tendons. This involves removing and then re-injecting blood into the affected area. This is used to treat damaged tendons, where a patient’s blood is taken and re-injected into the affected area.
This works because our blood contains platelets which support the healing process of the tendons.
nSTRIDE APS autologous (from your own body) therapy is used to treat joint pain associated with knee osteoarthritis in particular. This works by protecting cartilage cells and slow the progression of osteoarthritis.
Your consultant will use an ultrasound scan to identify precisely which tendon(s) require treatment. Then, a small amount of blood will be taken from your arm. It will then be injected into your affected tendon.
Medication
The pain consultant will review your current list of medication and make suggestions to you and your GP as to the best choices for your pain condition. Not all medicines are suitable for all patients, and therefore your consultant may make several suggestions to your GP.
There are different pain medicines depending on the types of pain that need treating. Pain from inflamed tissues and joints may be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs or medicines containing paracetamol and an opioid (strong painkiller). Pain of nerve origin, however, may need different medication in order to get effective relief by desensitising the effected nerve.
