Physical Medicine

What is physical medicine?

Physical medicine and rehabilitation helps you cope with chronic pain. It uses a variety of nonsurgical approaches, depending on your needs. While surgery may sometimes be necessary, for most patients, less invasive treatments are usually successful.

Numerous conditions can cause chronic pain. Some, like cancer, may persist for months or several years before you recover, while others are incurable. In many cases, it’s not possible to eliminate chronic pain altogether, but the team personalizes physical medicine programs to offer you a range of treatments that may help make your condition easier to tolerate.

The providers at Ascend Regenerative Medicine are experts in pain medicine and rehabilitation. They use pain management principles to address the cause of your disorder, finding out how everything you’re experiencing fits together and the root of your pain.

What conditions can physical medicine treat?

Physical medicine and rehabilitation programs are suitable for most conditions. Some conditions that the team treats frequently include:

• Neck and shoulder pain 
• Back pain 
• Hip pain 
• Knee pain
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Fibromyalgia
• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Neuropathic (nerve) pain
• Degenerative disc disease
• Myofascial pain syndrome
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylolisthesis

You can also develop chronic pain from acute or repetitive strain injuries that don’t heal properly.

Will my physical medicine plan include medication?

Drugs can play a vital role in reducing severe pain, and some, like anti-seizure medicines, can be helpful in addressing nerve dysfunction that’s causing pain. However, painkillers don’t tackle the cause of your pain, so while they provide some relief, they don’t resolve the problem.

It’s possible for drugs to become less effective over time as your body gets used to them. Increasing your medication can also raise the risk of side effects and accidental overdose, and with opioid medications, you could develop an addiction.

The team finds what’s responsible for the pain and treats the source. This offers a far better solution to managing chronic pain.

What treatments might my physical medicine plan include?

The details of your physical medicine plan vary according to your needs, but it may include:

• Massage therapy
• Physical therapy
• Stretching exercises
• Ultrasound therapy
• MLS laser therapy
• Electrical stimulation
• Manual manipulation
• Epidural steroid injections for back and neck pain
• Joint and soft tissue steroid injections
• Regenerative medicine (PRP and stem cells)

Using the most appropriate treatments for your condition, the team may be able to help minimize your pain and optimize your physical function. 

To learn more about physical medicine treatments, call Ascend Regenerative Medicine or request an appointment online today.