Services offered
Acute Pain
Acute pain management via regional anesthesia/analgesia, and patient-controlled intravenous analgesia.
Regional analgesia (loss of pain) blocks pain that travels through a nerve by injecting an analgesic drug close to the nerve trunk. Regional anesthesia (loss of sensation) is characterized by the loss of sensation to a specific region of the body, caused by injecting a local anesthetic around a peripheral nerve or the spinal cord. There are many different regional analgesia techniques that can be used to eliminate pain, including epidural analgesia. Regional anesthesia techniques, also known as regional blocks, are used in select general, orthopaedic, thoracic, plastic, urology and vascular surgeries. Regional anesthesia often reduces the need for opioids, many of which have unwanted side effects.
Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia allows patients to control the delivery (timing and quantity) of analgesic drugs to manage their pain. Analgesic drugs, often opioids such as morphine, are available through an IV that begins the flow of drug(s) when the patient pushes a button. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia is commonly used after major surgery when patients are expected to experience moderate to severe pain and when regional anesthesia/analgesia is not recommended.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain treatment and management through medication, acupuncture, electromotive drug administration, nerve blocks, trigger point injections, transcutaneus electrical nerve stimulation and self-management.
Medications, ranging from antidepressants to opioids, may be effective in managing chronic pain. *If an antidepressant medication is suggested, it does not mean that you are depressed or that staff think the pain is ‘in your head.’ Research studies have demonstrated that antidepressants can indeed relieve pain.
Acupuncture involves inserting very thin needles into specific areas of the body to decrease pain.
Regional anesthesia techniques, also known as nerve blocks, involve injecting a local anesthetic close to a nerve to block the ‘pain signal’ to the brain.
Trigger point injections are commonly used to relieve pain in a muscle. An anesthetic solution is injected into a trigger point which is a very tender spot in the muscle. With each injection, the level of pain may be reduced for longer periods of time.
Transcutaneus electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) reduces pain by applying low-voltage electricity through patches placed over the skin.
The Pain Self-Management Program is a group program of up to 16 people who learn ways to feel better, live healthier and learn to cope with chronic pain. The program is for people who have not benefitted from treatments and who wish to learn non-medical ways of managing chronic pain. The program uses principles from psychology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. (Read more...)
