Chronic pain is any pain that persists over a long period of time – at least 12 weeks. This is unlike acute pain, which comes on suddenly and is usually treatable. Chronic pain is often difficult to treat medically and will affect a person for a longer period of time.
Chronic pain is often a symptom of various medical conditions, like: diabetes, arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia, cancer, shingles, sciatica, and more. This kind of pain may progress over time or get worse due to environmental or psychological factors.
Causes of Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is most often the result of a previous injury, with some believing that chronic pain develops after nerves become damaged. In cases of nerve damage, treating the underlying injury may not be enough to resolve the symptoms of chronic pain.
In other cases, chronic pain can be experienced not due to a prior injury, but rather from an underlying health condition, such as the following:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Endometriosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Interstitial cystitis
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Who Can Develop Chronic Pain?
Though it is more common in older adults, anyone can develop chronic pain. Some factors that can increase your risk of developing a chronic kind of pain include the following:
- Injury
- Surgery
- Obesity
Chronic Pain Treatment
The treatment of chronic pain has one goal in mind: to reduce pain and allow you to return to your daily activities once again.
Unfortunately, chronic pain is a kind of pain rather than a condition in and of itself. This means that treatment plans must be adjusted according to each individual, as no one treatment will work for every single case of chronic pain.
In some cases, over-the-counter medications, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, can be helpful at reducing the symptoms of chronic pain. Some people find relief with opioid pain relievers, but the side effects can be harmful when abused.
There are also some general lifestyle changes and home remedies you can participate in to help ease the symptoms, such as engaging in physical therapy or yoga, seeing a therapist, or practicing meditation.
Ketamine for Chronic Pain Treatment
Ketamine was first approved by the FDA for use as an anesthetic, but it has also found significant use as a pain reliever over the years, with many organizations now recommending it for the treatment of chronic pain conditions.
Research into Ketamine infusions for treating pain is still ongoing, but it is generally believed that Ketamine helps to foster connections between synapses and restore damaged nerve connections, essentially “rewiring” the brain. Ketamine infusions may be particularly effective at not only treating the pain symptoms of Chronic Pain Syndrome, but also the additional depression and anxiety symptoms.
The recent FDA approval of Spravato (a Ketamine-based nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression), as well as the development of new psychedelics research centers by John Hopkins, may indicate a shift in the chronic pain treatment industry, providing innovative new options like Ketamine infusion to those who experience persistent and treatment-resistant chronic pain.
Contact us today to learn more about our innovative new treatment for chronic pain.
