Pain Management - Neurology

Appropriate pain control helps neurosurgery patients recover faster with fewer risks of complications such as blood clots and pneumonia. If pain is well managed, patients are better able to engage in important activities such as walking and deep breathing exercises. The Greenwich Hospital healthcare team works closely with patients to prevent and relieve pain and discomfort.

Surgical patients can expect to be continually assessed to ensure they are comfortable. Patients are asked to participate in their pain management by telling staff when they are uncomfortable and reporting and rating their pain on a scale of 0 to 10. Together, patients and staff set goals for acceptable pain levels. When necessary, adjustments or changes to the pain management regimen are made.

Pain control options include medication, relaxation techniques, physical therapy, interventional pain management, radiology, nutritional consultation, and counseling and behavioral programs. The wide variety of conventional and advanced pain management therapies include:

• Regenerative medicine therapy, including platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections to stimulate healing of injured tissue.
• Implanted infusion pumps deliver continuous medication for pain or muscle spasms.
• Intradiscal electrotherapy, a nonsurgical treatment for spinal disc disorders.
• Nerve blocks such as cervical and lumbar epidural blocks, and facet and sacroiliac joint injections.
• Radiofrequency ablation that stops or lessens pain by selectively destroying nerve cells.
• Spinal cord stimulators, which use electrical current to release pain-relieving hormones found naturally in the body.