Treatment options for chronic pain seem to be endless. Because chronic pain comes in so many forms and affects patients differently, physicians typically want to have unlimited options for their patients, especially those who want to avoid surgery. A new form of treatment for chronic pain from nerve damage, called cyroneurolysis, has shown positive short-term results.
Southwest Spine and Pain Center’s medical staff offers nothing but the best options for their patients. In order to do so, the team monitors treatment results that prove to be safe and effective.
Cyroneurolysis is administered by cooling a small probe to about 10 to -16 degrees Celsius. The probe is placed on the area of pain and essentially freezes the nerve root in which the pain signals are traveling through.
Dr. William Moore, the medical director at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, led a study and presented the team’s findings at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting. He emphasized that, based on the study’s results, they could use cyroneurolysis for treatment on patients suffering from a chronic pain condition called neuralagia. This debilitating disease involved crippling pain along the nerve paths in the body.
Neuralagia is a chronic pain disease that usually occurs when diabetes, surgery, or a traumatic injury damage nerves. Because the symptoms are so severe, pain medications aren’t sufficient and strong enough, and cause serious side effects.
With over 15 million Americans and Europeans suffering from neuralagia, Dr. Moore stated that this treatment could provide “significant lasting pain relief and [allow] them to take a lower dose of pain medication- or even skip drugs altogether.”
Dr. Moore and his medical teams study was based on the results from 20 patients who received cyroneurolysis to treat neuralagia. After one week, one month, and three months, researchers evaluated each patient’s pain levels. They found that after one week their pain dropped from an 8 to a 2.4. After six months, however, the pain increased to a 4, but only because of nerve regeneration.
The reason for the increase in pain after six months may be because different patients need different levels of the treatment. All patients will experience relief at different rates.
The Southwest Spine and Pain Center team is devoted to research and development of more and better treatment options. Studies, like the one regarding cyroneurolysis, is proof the pain management will continue to grow. For more information, consult with a medical staff member at Southwest Spine and Pain Center.
If chronic pain is impacting your life, don't wait to schedule an appointment at Southwest Spine and Pain Center. With three locations and growing, the pain management specialists at Southwest Spine and Pain Center are dedicated to helping those who suffer from chronic pain live the life they want to! To schedule an appointment, visit our locations tab!
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
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