Interventional pain management is a multidisciplinary approach to alleviate or reduce pain using minimally invasive techniques. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for patients by managing their pain effectively.
Areas of Application:
- Knee pain (osteoarthritis)
- Lower back pain (spinal stenosis, slipped disc, vertebral fractures)
- Shoulder pain (osteoarthritis, adhesive capsulitis, rotator cuff injuries)
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Joint pain
- Stiffness
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Grating sensation during joint movement
- Age
- High body mass index
- Inflammation
- Family history
- Pre-existing conditions
- Sports injury
Interventional Pain Management Approach:
Medical techniques: Imaging guidance (X-ray, ultrasound, CT) helps locate the source of pain.
Physical therapy: Collaboration with allied health professionals and fitness instructors to support pain management.
Treatment
Knee osteoarthritis is a long-term degenerative condition characterised by the progressive degradation of articular cartilage, reduction in knee joint fluid, and inflammation.
Treatments:
Traditional treatment for osteoarthritis involves medication, physical therapy, joint injections and eventually knee joint replacement surgery. Interventional pain management for knee pain involves minimally invasive techniques that are done under imaging guidance. These are done as day surgeries under light sedation and back to activity the following day. This is especially useful in patients who are not improving with medication and physical therapy and still have a long way to go before considering knee replacement operation.
Minimally invasive treatment options we offer include:
- Genicular nerve ablation: This involves selectively applying radiofrequency waves to the affected nerves in the knee.
- Genicular artery embolization: This minimally invasive procedure uses a catheter to inject spherical particles to create a blockage to the flow of blood to certain parts of the knee that cause pain.
- Knee joint injection of Autologous Protein Solution (APS): APS solution is derived from the patient’s blood. It contains high concentrations of anti-inflammatory and anabolic proteins that are injected directly into the affected area to relieve symptoms.
Common conditions which can result in back pain: Spinal stenosis, slipped disc, vertebral fractures.
Treatment:
- Non-surgical nerve blocks: Epidural, facet joint, or nerve root injections, peripheral or sympathetic nerve block
- Radiofrequency ablation: This involves selectively applying radiofrequency waves to the affected nerves in the spine
- Chemical ablation (Ultrasound-Guided Sclerotherapy): This involves non-invasive pain-free injections of medicine into blood vessels or lymph vessels which causes them to shrink
- Percutaneous disc procedures: This is a minimally invasive procedure to remove herniated disc material which is pressing on a nerve root or the spinal cord
Common conditions which can result in shoulder pain: Shoulder osteoarthritis, adhesive capsulitis, rotator cuff injuries.
Treatments:
- Interventional pain management for shoulder pain involves minimally invasive techniques that are done under imaging guidance. These are done as day surgery procedures under light sedation and the patient is back to activity within a couple of days. This is especially useful in patients who find their conditions not improving with medication and physical therapy and/or still have a long way to go before considering an open surgical operation.
Minimally invasive treatment options we offer include:
- Suprascapular nerve ablation: this is done under ultrasound and fluoroscopic guidance. It involves selectively applying radiofrequency waves to the nerves surrounding the shoulder to effectively relieve pain there.
- Shoulder artery embolization: this minimally invasive procedure uses a catheter to inject spherical particles to create a blockage to the flow of blood to certain parts of the shoulder that cause pain.
- Shoulder joint injection of steroids/ Autologous Protein Solution (APS): this uses steroids or APS (an anti-inflammatory-rich cellular solution from a patient’s own blood) that will be injected under ultrasound guidance.
Headaches are a common health problem — most people experience them at some time. Frequent or severe headaches can affect a person’s quality of life.
Persistent idiopathic facial pain refers to severe ache, crushing sensation, or burning sensation along the territory of the trigeminal nerve. It is usually a continuous unilateral pain that lasts for a long duration without autonomic signs or symptoms. It is described as a persistent headache and neck pain that affects the face up to the shoulder.
Neck pain is a common problem that can involve just the neck and shoulders, or it may radiate down an arm. The pain can cause muscle weakness, numbing sensation or feel like an electric shock into your arm.
Treatments we offer comprise of non-surgical nerve blocks via medical injections either outside the spinal cord or site of pain:
- Epidural injections
- Facet joint injections
- Nerve root injections
- Peripheral nerve block
- Sympathetic nerve block
