Many types of chronic pain may not seem serious at a glance, but at Pawhuska Hospital, we know that long-term pain seriously impacts quality of life, often resulting in debility and depression over time. Chronic pain doesn’t discriminate. It can affect anyone regardless of age, gender or background. Many patients in the pain management program at Pawhuska Hospital suffer from:
- atypical pain syndromes
- back pain
- fibromyalgia
- musculoskeletal pain
- neck pain
- oncology-related pain
- spine pain
- neuropathic pain resulting from damaged or pinched nerves
Chronic pain can be defined by any of these three criteria:
- it persists after an injury has healed, or lasts longer than the usual recovery time
- it interferes with daily life, either at home or at work
- it doesn’t get better after multiple attempts to treat it, including medication, physical therapy or surgery
Our team partners with primary care doctors and other specialists for comprehensive physical, diagnostic and psychological evaluations. These evaluations help us to determine whether further tests such as blood chemistry, x-rays or imaging are needed, and ultimately to:
- minimize the effects of pain
- maximize function and productivity
- teach alternative coping methods
- minimize the need for medication
- prevent further injury
- enable patients to return to normal activity
Pawhuska Hospital pain management services include a range of therapeutic techniques. Treatment approaches include:
- physical and occupational therapy
- psychological treatment including expert behavioral and stress-management counseling
- computer biofeedback that helps patients learn pain-reducing relaxation techniques
- medication management by physicians to select medications with maximum effectiveness and minimal side effects
- epidural steroid injections that deliver anti-inflammatory steroids to the source of pain
- facet injections that limit pain and increase movement
- acupuncture and intramuscular stimulation to help relieve pain from certain areas of the body
- blocks that will relieve abdominal pain from the pancreas, nerves or spine
- prolotherapy regenerative injections for joints, ligaments and tendons