Pain Management
Pain management is a therapeutic procedure involving the injection of pain relief medication (anesthetic and/or steroid) into the area of concern.
The most common pain management procedures is the injection of steroids into the spine (lumbar steroid procedure). A series of three injections given every six months can effectively reduce and sometimes even eliminate back pain for months at a time.
Q: Who is pain management for?
A: Pain management is for people who live with chronic pain.
Q: What are some common diagnosis of people that use pain management?
A: Acute low back pain, fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and cancer pain. Also, pain due to industrial injury or trauma, muscle or joint pain, neuralgia or pain following nerve injury, amputation or spinal cord injury, lumbago and surgical incision.
Q: What medications are commonly used for injections?
A: Lidocaine and Marcaine -- local anesthetics--and triamcinolone, a water-soluble steroid.
Q: Will the procedure be painful? The answer varies with each procedure. Because Sutter North Medical Foundation's anesthesiologists are very experienced and skilled, they perform the procedures quickly and accurately, thus minimizing any discomfort.
Q: How can I be referred to Sutter North's Pain Management specialists?
A: Patients are referred by their primary care physician. When treatment is complete, patients will be referred back to their primary care physician.
If you have further questions about Sutter North's Pain Management procedures, call 530-749-5500 or ask your primary care physician.
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