(EDITORS NOTE: October is National Spinal Health Month).
Q I've had back pain for years and nothing has helped. Am I just going to have to learn to live with it, or is there a new treatment I can try? A.S., Tucson
A Severe pain is not necessarily something you must learn to live with. Pain must be treated because it interferes with every aspect of an individual's life. Better understanding of pain mechanisms and more sophisticated pain-management techniques have led to significant advances in pain therapy in recent years.
There are many options for controlling chronic pain, ranging from oral medications to new invasive techniques. Each patient needs a thorough evalution and a patient-specific plan of action.
University Medical Center's Pain Management Center is one of only a few clinics in Arizona to offer implantible therapies for treating back pain.
One new therapy is epiduroscopy, a new minimally invasive outpatient procedure for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic back pain. A video-guided catheter and flexible fiber optic epiduroscope allow direct visual examination of the spinal nerves, permitting the physician to diagnose -- and in many cases treat -- adhesions, scar tissue and pain generating nerve roots.
—Nancy E. Cross, M.D., head, acute pain service, Pain Management Center, University Medical Center, and assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology, The University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson
PLEASE NOTE:
Patients must be referred by their primary care physician or other health care professional for treatment at the UMC Pain Management Center. For more information, call University Health Connection, (520) 694-8888.
AHSC consists of The University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, the School of Health Professions, University Medical Center and The University Physicians
Editors Note: ASK AHSC is published by the AHSC Office of Public Affairs. ASK AHSC is available on the Internet at www.ahsc.arizona.edu/opa/answers. To receive ASK AHSC via E-mail, call (520) 626-7301.
Health questions should be sent to: ASK AHSC, AHSC Office of Public Affairs, PO Box 245095, Tucson, AZ 85724-5095, or E-mail to: jspinell@u.arizona.edu. The information here is not intended to replace the advice of your physician. For referral to a UA Physician, please call University Health Connection, (520) 694-8888.
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