Nowadays, people erroneously assume that seeking treatment from a specialist is only about focusing on narcotic painkillers. This is not the case. The practice of pain management or pain medicine is a diagnosis that medical experts diagnose. It is more like a medical specialty, similar to how a person struggling with heart problems needs to seek the help of a cardiologist for a thorough evaluation of their heart and receive treatment set on a unique diagnosis. In addition, a visit to a pain management specialist will offer the best treatment result based on the diagnosis of each patient and the type of pain they experience.
When it comes to pain medicine or pain management, know that this branch of medicine that deals with the evaluation, prevention, diagnosis, and evaluation of painful disorders. Pain is something common across the United States, and it affects many. Pain targets about 116 million Americans, who complain of chronic pain and this refers to the type of pain that lasts for over three months.
For pain management specialists GA and patients alike, pain relief remains a major concern. Doctors keep working on their prescriptions, and some offer opioid pain relief, whereas others turn to other methods. However, it is always important to keep an eye on the latest pain management trends and options.
Here are the latest trends of 2019 in pain management you need to know about.
Holistic Methods
Increasingly, doctors and patients show a keen interest in the body and mind connection of pain management. For example, consider the fact that patients struggling with chronic pain like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia for example often find that simple exercises will not affect their fitness. However, it helps to improve their well-being. The endorphins physical activities release adds to the benefit of lowering pain on a daily basis.
Patients who take Pilates or yoga classes also learn about how well to meditate. In addition, some primary pain management centers like Kroll Care have physical therapists and chiropractors on-site, who offer the best treatments to align their body and ease pain from different areas. This method believes in the fact that proper alignment of the spine and relaxing the muscles will reduce the intensity of pain in the affected areas.
Electrical Stimulation Devices
This is a growing one and proves to be one of the most effective means to ease pain related to muscles. These are often non-addictive alternatives to narcotic painkillers and have the power to reduce the intensity of pain patients. Devices like these work as nerve field stimulators, which provide low-frequency impulses to reduce the activity of the nervous system, improving blood flow, and reducing inflammation, and oxygenation to tissues. You can also research more on your own about some of the medical trends doctors will use in 2019.
Lumbar Stenosis
In the lumbar spine, lumbar spinal stenosis is a degenerative condition, where the discs or soft tissues between the vertebrae wear down. This causes the spinal canal to narrow down, exerting pressure on the lower back nerves. The pressure leads to radiating pain in the leg, groin area, and buttock The LSS device is one that acts as an extensive blocker, developed to treat patients who suffer from the condition. It allows the spinal canal to remain extended when standing and it relieves pressure on the affected nerves.
Focus on Diet Improvement
In pain management, diet plays a major role to help patients. In fact, diet and food help about 45% of patients who struggle with pain in improving and managing their pain on a daily basis. In fact, 23% also manage worse pain through proper management of their diet. Diet and health tools, ranging from supplements to vitamins to beverages and functional foods, organic to natural, and others play a key role in satiating hunger and helping the body to achieve the goal of a healthy life.
Acupuncture Techniques
In countries like the United States, different styles and techniques of acupuncture are available, including Chinese and Japanese methods of acupuncture. As well as electroacupuncture, trigger point acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, Korean hand, and other methods. In 2019, a rise in the trend of this technique may rise. Pain management experts will incorporate different styles and techniques to create unique methods.
More Options in Joint Pain Solutions
Americans over the age of 65 are doubling on a daily basis, and by the year 2030, there’s a prediction that the figures will continue to change significantly and make up for most of the orthopedic practices in the year 2019. Clinics will plan new treatment protocols and non-invasive pain management methods, including laser therapy, and various other technologies that will offer both pain relief and the best options to ease the pain.
Stem Cell Procedures
The use of platelet-rich plasma and stem cells are just some of the new trends in managing pain. In this latest trend, pain experts will extract your cells and re-inject them into the painful or injured area. These cells will then stimulate the tissues, helping them to heal disc injuries, nerves, and other parts of the body.
These are just some of the trends we can expect to see in 2019, and the results are set to keep rising with more options coming into the market.