Pain Management Diagnostic and Treatment Options

Pain Management

Locating the source of chronic pain and successfully treating it varies by the individual. That’s why Atlantic Health System Neuroscience offers personalized pain management solutions ranging from simple exercise routines to complex spine surgeries.

Chronic Pain Diagnosis

Diagnosis starts with comprehensive physical and psychological evaluations, which depending on the patient’s level of pain, may be following by a high-tech imaging test, such as:

Discography
– an injection technique used to identify the exact lumbar discs that are causing pain and to determine whether a patient would be a candidate for additional pain management treatments
Electromyography and nerve conduction studies
– uses brief electrical impulses to locate pinched nerves in the spine
Facet joint injections
– an injectable contrast dye pinpoints the source of pain within the facet joints, which allow for the spine to be flexible

Chronic Pain Treatments

Our pain management specialists use the latest therapies to alleviate symptoms, improve mobility and restore daily functioning. These include:

Cryoanalgesia
– uses a freezing sensation to numb nerves and stop pain
Disc decompression
– a minimally invasive alternative to open spine surgery that removes a portion of a herniated disc to relieve the pressure on a pinched root nerve; may be performed in the hospital operating room
Dorsal column and spinal cord stimulators
– transmits mild electrical impulses via a probe placed in the epidural space of the spine that override painful nerve signals
Epidural steroid injections
– a mixture of anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers and corticosteroid medications is injected into the epidural space of the spine
Infusion pump therapy
– implantable devices that deliver medication to the areas surrounding the spinal cord; used in severe cases of pain
Medication (patient-controlled or continuous epidural)
– consists of pills or other oral medications, as well as injections delivered in the doctor’s office
Radiofrequency ablation, or rhizotomy
– interrupts pain signals using a high radiofrequency current that is transmitted into the spine via a specialized temperature monitoring probe and needle
Sacroiliac joint injection
– an anesthetic with a long-lasting steroid mixture is injected into the sacroiliac joints, located in the back where the lumbosacral spine joins the pelvis
Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks
– uses ultrasound technology to precisely locate and isolate nerves, which are then injected with medication that turns off the pain signals to the brain; often used to treat intense pain following knee replacement or other orthopedic surgeries
Trigger point injections
– treats spasms or "knots" that form when muscles fail to relax

Additional pain management treatments:

  • Acupuncture, massage therapy and other integrative
    medicine services
  • Behavioral health services
  • Botox injections
  • Celiac plexus block
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (mindfulness)
  • Diagnostic spinal taps
  • EMG and nerve conduction testing
  • Epidural blood patch
  • Exercise recommendations
  • Ganglion impar block
  • Genicular nerve ablation
  • Greater occipitals
  • Intercostals
  • Intrathecal pump trial and placement
  • Interview and diagnosis
  • Kyphoplasty
  • Lumbar epidural steroid injection
  • Lumbar sympathetic block
  • Lumbar transforaminal epidural injection
  • Medial branch nerve block
  • Muscle injection
  • Nutritional counseling
  • Occipital nerve block
  • Percutaneous lumbar discectomy
  • Peripheral nerve blocks
  • Pharmacologic management
  • Physical therapy
  • Psychological assessment and treatment
  • Radiofrequency denervation
  • Social work support
  • Spinal injections
  • Spinal nerve root block
  • Spinal surgery
  • Stellate nerve blocks
  • Superior hypogastric plexus block
  • Sympathetic blocks (lumbar and stellate
    ganglion)
  • Thoracic epidural steroid injection
  • Vertebroplasty

Locations

Morristown Medical Center

Medical Arts Center (MAC) II – Overlook Medical Center

Chilton Medical Center

Physician services for pain management are also available at Chilton Medical Center, Hackettstown Medical Center, Morristown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center. Find an Atlantic Health System doctor >