This content is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical advice, nor does it replace the need to seek medical advice from a qualified medical professional.
Arthritis is a name for a group of conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system specifically the joints (where two or more bones meet). There are over 100 forms of arthritis, each affecting the joints in different ways.
What is chronic back pain? Watch Dr Russo explain how to tell if you're suffering this debilitating condition.
Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood condition that can cause a group of symptoms marked by widespread chronic body pain and usually accompanied by fatigue, cognitive disturbance and emotional distress.
CRPS describes a painful debilitating condition in a limb such as the arm, hand, foot or leg, where the pain is out of proportion to any preceding injury and associated with reduced use of the limb.
Neuropathic pain (also referred to as nerve pain or neuralgia), is pain caused by damage, injury or dysfunction of nerves. This is the result of trauma, disease, surgery or chemotherapy.
Post herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common complication from shingles (varicella herpes zoster). It is a condition that is caused by damage to nerve fibres, causing burning pain that lasts long after the rash and blisters of shingles has resolved.
Botulinum Toxin type A (commercially available as Botox or Dysport) is well known for its use in cosmetics, but it has actually been used for years to treat spasticity in juvenile cerebral palsy and is also used to treat certain forms of pain.
Bursa are small pockets of fluid located around the joints where muscles and tendons glide over bones. Their function is to decrease the friction between the two surfaces as they move in different directions.
The coeliac plexus is a bundle of sympathetic nerves within the abdomen. It is sometimes referred to as the "solar plexus". The sympathetic nervous system is involved in many types of pain, including chronic abdominal pain.
The epidural space is located between the outer surface of the dural sac and the bones of the vertebral column. It contains spinal nerve roots, which can become irritated and cause pain in the lower limbs.
Etanercept is a prescription medication that is administered by injection. It is used to treat various conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Trochanter bursitis causes pain around the hip and buttock that radiates down the outside aspect of the leg. This is due to inflammation of a bursa (fluid-filled pocket located around the joints) on the greater trochanter or hip socket.
Inflammation of the iliotibial band produces pain when the knee joint is moved, which may be felt on the lower thigh or outside of the knee.
An ilioinguinal nerve block involves the injection of local anaesthetic and steroid into the ilioinguinal nerve for the purpose of pain relief or diagnosis.
An intercostal nerve block involves the injection of local anaesthetic and steroid onto a branch of the intercostal nerve, which is located to the side of the ribs.
An interscalene nerve block is performed to treat chronic pain of the upper extremity. It involves the injection of local anaesthetic and steroid into the brachial plexus - a group of nerves at the side of the neck.
Ketamine is a medication usually used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and in conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The aim of a ketamine infusion is to reduce the level of pain and, at the same time, increase your sensitivity to analgesia
The lumbar sympathetic chain is a group of nerves in your lower back. These nerves control the blood supply to the legs. A lumbar sympathectomy is an injection procedure performed to block the sympathetic nerves and increase the blood supply to the skin in the leg.
A medial branch block involves the injection of local anaesthetic, with or without corticosteroid, onto the nerves that supply the facet joints (medial branches). This may also be known as a facet joint injection or a dorsal ramus block.
The occipital nerves run from the top of the spinal column up to the back of the scalp. An occipital nerve block involves an injection of local anaesthetic and steroid onto the area of the occipital nerves.
Pamidronate is used to treat a number of conditions affecting bones, such as osteoporosis, Paget’s disease, and bones affected by cancer. It may also be used to treat complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).
The piriformis muscle is a pear shaped muscle that attaches at the sacrum and greater trochanter (hip socket). A piriformis muscle injection involves the injection of local anaesthetic and either steroid or Botox into the piriformis muscle.
Prolotherapy (also known as sclerotherapy, regenerative injection therapy or non surgical ligament reconstruction) and autologous blood injections are injection techniques used to treat connective tissue injuries that have not healed with other treatments.
A provocative discography is performed to determine the cause of your pain. The procedure involves the injection of a small amount of dye and antibiotic into the disc(s) suspected to be causing your back pain.
The psoas muscle extends from the thoracic area of your spine down alongside your lumbar spine and attaches to your hip (lesser trochanter). It is joined to the iliacus muscle and together these form the iliopsoas muscle.
Pulsed radiofrequency neurotomy is a modified version of traditional radiofrequency procedures. Short bursts of electrical current are applied to the target / pain generating nerve via needle electrodes.
Radiofrequency neurotomy procedures are performed to treat pain arising from joints, such as facet joint pain, sacroiliac joint pain, as well as certain headaches.
Spinal nerves exit the spine at each disc level - this exit point is known as the root of the nerve. The root sleeve is the connective tissue that encases each spinal nerve root.
The sacroiliac joint links the lower spine and the pelvis. Inflammation of the joint may cause pain in the low back, buttocks, abdomen, groin or legs. A sacroiliac joint injection involves the injection of local anaesthetic and steroid into the sacroiliac joint.
The stellate ganglion is a bundle of nerve fibres (ganglion) located at the side of your neck (near your voice box) that make up the sympathetic chain. A stellate ganglion block involves the injection of local anaesthetic into this ganglion.
Before being implanted with a Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) or Peripheral Nerve Stimulator (PNS) or Occipital Nerve Stimulator (ONS), you must first undergo a stimulation trial procedure.
The suprascapular nerve is located at the back of the shoulder blade (known as the scapula). This nerve supplies the shoulder joint and 2 of the rotator cuff muscles. The nerve may become compressed for a number of reasons, such as wearing heavy bags over the shoulder or direct injury.
TENS is the most common and accessible form of hyper stimulation analgesia. It is a noninvasive, non-addictive technique useful in both acute and chronic pain and in both pathophysiological and neuropathic pain.
A trigger point is a sensitive or irritable point in the body that can be a source of pain. These may be found in the skin, ligament and tendon tissue and can result in bands of pain known as referred pain. This pain can be located at some distance from the actual source of the pain.
If you are suitable, Medicinal Cannabis products may be recommended by a pain specialist.
Sciatica, sometimes referred to as lumbar radicular pain, is pain due to irritation of sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerves are a pair of large nerves that begin in the lower (lumbar) spine from a group of spinal nerve roots, and that pass through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.
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