DECEMBER - 20208In My OpinionPrashant Kumar, Medical Director, Pain Medicine, Saint Vincent HospitalByThe effective long-term treatment of chronic pain has long been a challenge for physicians. While there have been pharmacologic advances and an increase in medication choices available to treat the condition, medication management continues to be limited in efficacy as well as burdened with side effects. A particular type of pain, neuropathic pain, can be particularly challenging to treat, especially with our current choices of medications and procedures.Neuropathic pain occurs after damage or insults to nerves themselves. A common example of this type of pain occurs as the result of disc herniation or degenerative changes in the spine which may compress nerves or the spinal cord, travelling within the spine. While surgery or other procedures such as spinal injections may be effective in treating some forms of this pain, other patients experience persistent and debilitating symptoms despite undergoing these more traditional treatments. Other conditions leading to neuropathic pain include diabetic peripheral neuropathy, complex regional pain syndromes, post-herpetic neuropathy (Shingles pain), SPINAL CORD STIMULATION (SCS): A BOON TO NEUROPATHIC PAINPrashant Kumar
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