Chronic pain is one of the most debilitating conditions affecting people who were injured in an accident. They have already gone through the acute phase of pain and followed the doctor’s prescriptions. Once out of hospital, they went to physical therapy sessions. Yet, they finally have to accept that pain will not go away. However, the doctors at our South Carolina injury clinic have good news for you: there are ways to find relief from chronic pain.
In many situations, this type of pain is the result of incompletely or improperly healed injuries. This usually happens if you did not seek medical attention immediately after an accident. But chronic pain can also affect people who do everything by the book. The truth is that every person is unique. Some people will make a quick and full recovery. Others, who suffered similar injuries, will take longer to heal and may not make a full recovery.
The Impact of Chronic Pain on Your Everyday Life
A clinical study states that between 11% and 13% of adults suffer from chronic pain and that one of the main triggers is a motor vehicle collision. And the truth is that chronic pain affects your life in more ways than the obvious fact that you are in physical pain.
Patients who seek relief from chronic pain after a car accident or motorcycle accident in our South Carolina clinic also say that their quality of life is negatively impacted in several other ways. They also suffer from:
- Mood changes
- Depression and anxiety
- Low energy levels
- Inability to focus at work
- Constant fatigue.
It is important for patients to understand that over the counter pain medication is not a solution for chronic pain. These drugs will stop the pain for a short period of time. You will need a complete evaluation and a personalized treatment plan prepared by the doctors at our South Carolina injury clinic.
How We Help Patients Find Relief from Chronic Pain
We are here to help you improve your quality of life and stop dealing with pain on a daily basis. To do so, we created a multidisciplinary team specializing in various branches of medicine related to the treatment of accident injuries and their long term consequences.
When you come to us to find relief from chronic pain, we will:
1. Evaluate Your Condition
First of all, we will analyze how your got injured and what type of treatment plan you followed. For this reason, we will need to see the medical records prepared by the doctors who treated your accident injuries.
In some cases, we may identify an incomplete healing and recommend specialized treatments to correct the issue. However, in many cases, chronic pain is caused by trauma to the nervous system as a result of the accident. The most common types of chronic pain after such a traumatic event are recurring headaches, neck pain and lower back pain.
2. Refer You to Our Neurological Specialists
If necessary, we will redo all the relevant MRI scans in our neurology department to discover which part of your nervous system was affected. Our team of professionals relies on years of experience and on advanced medical equipment to pinpoint any neurological issues.
3. Prescribe Adequate Pain Medication
When dealing with chronic pain, medication is necessary up to an extent. Our aim is to find the best combination of over the counter and prescription pain medication to help you find relief from pain. In most of the situations, pain medication is an adjuvant to other forms of therapy.
4. Resort to Injections
We use injections in trigger points to help you deal with chronic pain. This is an effective way of dealing with pain in various parts of the body, including the arms, back and legs. The injections are also effective in tension headaches and myofascial pain syndrome.
5. Spinal Cord Stimulator
Sometimes, medication and injections are not effective for patients who complain of bouts of chronic pain that last for days. These are some of the worst long term consequences of a car accident, on a par with permanent disability. During the episode of pain, the patients are unable to get out of bed and deal even with the simplest tasks.
In such situations, the doctors at our South Carolina injury clinic will recommend an implant, called a spinal cord stimulator. This implant consists of thin wires and a small battery pack. The wires, called electrodes, send low-level electrical signals to the nerves. These signals stop the nerves from sending pain signals to the brain.
6. Caudal Steroid Injection
This type of treatment is different from injections, but still qualifies as a minimally invasive procedure. It involves delivering steroids into the lower back directly into the epidural area – a fat-filled area that covers the spinal cord. This type of treatment can offer relief to patients suffering from chronic pain caused by trauma or inflammatory conditions.
7. Chiropractic Care
Some patients may be allergic to drugs or injections. This is why they’ve endured chronic pain for some time after they reached the point of maximum medical improvement after their accident. However, there is one form of therapy that has very few contraindications: chiropractic.
The chiropractors at our South Carolina injury clinic have extensive experience in helping people suffering from chronic pain. Through specific adjustments and manipulations, pressure on the nerves is reduced. Chiropractic is also helpful for resolving inflammation in joints and misalignments suffered in various accidents.
You Don’t Have to Live with Chronic Pain
The doctors at Injury Medicine know that chronic pain has a powerful negative impact on your quality of life. Even if you followed the treatment prescribed after your motor vehicle accident, your body did not heal completely. But we can help you.
We created our South Carolina injury clinic with a focus to be a complete care center for various types of injuries and pain. We have seven locations across the state and we can offer you a same-day or next-day appointment if necessary. Call us to get evaluated by one of our doctors during the initial appointment: 864-866-PAIN!
