What is pain therapy for the back?
Almost every German suffers from back pain at least once in his life. However, most species are harmless and disappear by themselves. With some diseases, such as herniated discs or arthroses, the pain can become chronic.
To prevent this, early pain therapy is recommended. There are various procedures for this purpose, in order to relieve the pain and to increase the quality of life of the affected persons. An effective pain therapy can prevent many risky operations on the back.
What is done for the back during pain therapy?
First of all, the doctor tries to find the cause of the pain by asking questions and carrying out examinations, as in many cases this can or even must be remedied directly. If no remedy can be found, the planning phase of the individual pain therapy begins. The first steps of the pain therapy are often a mixture of heat supply and physical activity, since many back pains are lifestyle-related.
In some cases, such muscle building through sports and physiotherapy can already end pain. Another area of pain therapy is the classic drug treatment of pain. At the beginning this is tried with over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen and can then be increased if necessary.
The highest level of drug therapy is the anaesthetics, which are subject to a special law. Furthermore, there is the possibility to inject painkillers directly into the affected area, partly CT-controlled. In addition to pain-relieving drugs, muscle-relaxing agents are also used, since back pain is often caused by tense muscles.
Which pain therapy is the right one is different for each patient. Would you like to learn more about therapeutic measures for back pain? In the next article you will find detailed information on this topic at Therapy of back painThe CT-supported pain therapy is used when conventional methods, such as physiotherapy, are no longer sufficient.
In CT-supported pain therapy, a local anesthetic and cortisone are injected exactly into the affected area. First, the patient is put into a computer tomograph, which takes detailed x-rays of the back. Based on these images, the exact injection site is calculated and the data is transmitted to the CT.
In this way, a laser marker can be used to precisely hit the injection site and the medication can be injected with millimeter precision. In most cases, an improvement is immediately noticeable, but the procedure must be repeated three to four times. The anesthetic directly alleviates the pain and the cortisone has an anti-inflammatory and decongestant function.
Complications are very rare and can be prevented by precise planning. However, in the case of already existing sensitive or motor disorders, this method has its limitations and cannot prevent an operation. One reason for exclusion from this treatment is pregnancy, as radiation exposure can damage the unborn child.
Painkillers can not only be injected directly into the affected area, but can also be given via the bloodstream. Infusions used in pain therapy often contain a mixture of drugs. There is a strong painkiller in the infusion, to which an anti-inflammatory drug is usually added.
Muscle relaxants and vitamins can also be added to the infusions. For the infusion, an intravenous cannula is placed in the area of the hand or arm and the infusion bag is connected to it. Droplets of the medication enter the bloodstream and are distributed throughout the body.
Local side effects at the injection site are rather rare, but this therapy has effects on the entire body and can therefore lead to complications. Allergic reactions and effects on the central nervous system are possible, which is why no motor vehicles may be moved immediately after the treatment. For most patients, the procedure must be repeated several times.
The spinal cord and brain are surrounded by several layers of skin. The outermost one is the dura. In epidural anesthesia, an anesthetic is injected directly around this skin.
To do this, the patient sits with a bent back and the doctor pierces the skin and tissue between two vertebrae with a needle. A small tube is pushed over this needle, which remains in this epidural space. The procedure is usually painless, as the skin is numbed beforehand.Via the tube, the doctor or, with the help of a syringe pump, the patient himself can now pump painkillers into the spinal canal.
Side effects and complications are rare but dangerous. Possible is an infection of the spinal meninges with an involvement of the meninges, since the tube is an entry point for bacteria. Furthermore, incompatibilities with the drugs are known.
If the painkiller gets into a blood vessel, cardiac arrhythmia can also occur. The therapy is usually carried out on an inpatient basis, so that complications can be detected early on. You can find detailed information on this topic at Epidural anaesthesia – implementation and complications
