Posts made in September 2021

Chronic pain and depression can end up going hand-in-hand together, but why are these two things so interwoven with each other? The answer is stress.

When you are in pain, the areas of your brain that respond to stress fire up. This puts your body into a fight-or-flight mode by flooding your system with adrenaline. Typically, those stress signals turn off once the pain goes away and your body returns to a relaxed state.

With chronic pain, however, those fight-or-flight signals never turn off. That means your nervous system remains in a constant state of high alert. This never-ending amount of stress eventually begins to wear the body down, which leaves you more vulnerable to the physical realities that cause clinical depression, such as your body not being about to produce enough neurotransmitters or stress hormones.

As your chronic pain develops into depression, it can end up increasing your pain. This increase in pain can then deepen your depression, creating a downward spiral. That is why it is essential to find helpful pain management in St. Augustine, FL.

A pain management doctor or other professional is able to help you find healthy ways to deal with your chronic pain and the stress it causes so you can begin to battle against your depression. Advancements in medical technology have led to many different treatment options that can truly make a difference in your life.

Sciatica is a collection of painful and disruptive symptoms that up to 40% of Americans deal with daily. From shooting pains and numbness to muscle weakness in the legs and lower back, this common condition is one that is often misunderstood, which prevents patients from getting the treatment they need to live a pain-free life.

Thankfully, advancements in medical technology have allowed doctors to create new treatment programs that can address the root cause of the sciatica as well as the pain associated with it. One of these new methods is a sympathetic blockade treatment in Orange Park, FL.

A sympathetic nerve block is a type of spine injection that can provide lasting relief to different types of neuropathic pain—including sciatica. Your spine consists of multiple ganglions—or bundles of nerves—that branch out into your body. By injecting medication into the affected ganglion, your doctor is able to reduce nerve pain signals. This, in turn, reduces the amount of pain and discomfort you have to live with due to your sciatica.

If you are living with pain associated with sciatica, it is a good idea to reach out to your local pain management clinic to discuss available treatment options. There are solutions out there that can help you live a healthier, happier life.