Dr. John W. Arbuckle - What Are Interventional Pain Procedures?
John W. Arbuckle, MD, is a top interventional pain management specialist who lends his skills and expertise to serve patients at Indiana Spine Group in Carmel, IN. Offering world-class comprehensive spine care, Indiana Spine Group operates in offices throughout the state of Indiana, including Carmel, Danville, Indianapolis,... more
What is Interventional Pain Management?
What makes interventional pain management different is that it involves a team of health care professionals working together to alleviate the patients pain. This multidiciplnary approach allows for a larger range of treatments to better find and treat the patients source of acute/chronic pain. Minimally invasive techniques are used to relieve, reduce, or manage pain and improve a patient's overall quality of life.
Your medical team may include physical therapists, internists, physiatrists, anesthesiologists, occupational therapists, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists; All in cooperation with your primary care physician.
Back Pain and Interventional Pain Management Treatments
Interventional pain management physicians have a wide array of treatments that can be used to treat pain. For back pain suffers, these treatments can be especially useful. Some of these techniques include epidural injections, Nerve, root, and medial branch blocks, facet joint injections, discography, pulsed radiofrequency neurotomy, rhizotomy, spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal pumps, and percutaneous discectomy/nucleoplasty.
Getting Started
Before any treatments are started, your interventional pain management physician will perform diagnostic tests and give you a full physical to rule out other conditions that may present similar symptoms. These tests may include x-rays, CT scan, MRI, possibly blood tests and a full physical exam. Psychological evaluations may also be done at this time.
It’s up to you to inform your doctor about any other treatment you have tried, including prescriptions, alternative therapies, acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage, ect. Once the treatment plan has been determined, your interventional pain management physician will help you to coordinate the therapies you need.
