Interventional Pain Management After a Car Accident

Interventional Pain Management After a Car Accident


If you are injured in a car accident, you may experience chronic pain and discomfort from your injuries. The good news is, there are options for treating chronic pain available to you. Interventional pain management is an effective alternative to traditional, pharmaceutical pain management.

What is interventional pain management?

Pain management is a medical specialty, and interventional pain management (IPM) is one subset of this specialty. IPM includes an array of pain-blocking techniques and treatments. IPM is also an alternative to surgery for some injuries.

Interventional pain management treatments

An IPM specialist or anesthesiologist can administer several different forms of pain blocking therapy. The procedure that will work best for you will depend on the type of injury you received and the symptoms you are experiencing.

Epidural steroid injections

Injections containing a steroid and an anesthetic are delivered into the epidural space in the spine. These types of injections can reduce inflammation and swelling and provide long-lasting pain relief.

Radiofrequency ablations (RFA)

A small amount of electricity is passed through a needle into the body and to the nerves causing pain. This procedure typically involves local anesthetic and mild sedation.

Disc decompression

A probe is inserted into the affected disc, and a small amount of energy is emitted to break up the gel-like substance inside the disc. This causes the disc to shrink a small amount, relieving pressure on the disc and the surrounding nerves.

Endoscopic discectomy

This minimally invasive surgery removes a herniated disc. Because the incision is small and muscles are retracted rather than cut, this procedure has a faster recovery time than open surgical lumbar discectomy.

The benefits of interventional pain management

IPM treatments typically have shorter recovery periods and generally, have fewer side effects than surgical options. They also can provide relief from chronic pain for extended periods of time. Depending on the injury and the pain management treatments prescribed, you can experience relief from pain for weeks, months or even forever. Also, unlike pain management drugs, IPM treatments treat the actual cause of the pain, do not pose the risk of addiction, and have fewer side effects.

How do I know if I’m a candidate for interventional pain management?

If you’ve been injured in a car accident and are interested in interventional pain management, you should schedule an appointment with a practicing pain management specialist. The doctor will discuss the details of the accident and your injuries to help them diagnose your injury and prescribe treatments.

At Florida Physical Medicine, we only treat people injured in a car accident. If you are experiencing chronic pain after a car accident and would like to see if interventional pain management could help you, contact us to schedule a consultation visit with our board certified doctor and pain management specialist.


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