Living With Chronic Pain? 5 Minimally Invasive Treatments to Help You Reclaim Your Life

At Comprehensive Pain Management Partners, our renowned pain management experts, Eric Haynes, MD, and Rudy Panganiban, MD, offer innovative, minimally invasive treatments for chronic pain in Tampa, Venice, Dade City, and New Port Richey, Florida.

Our broad spectrum of advanced, minimally invasive treatments can target different sources of chronic pain effectively and without major surgery. Here are five options that could help you get back to living more comfortably.

1. Epidural steroid injections

Spinal nerves can grow severely inflamed and irritated, triggering pain. In some cases, nerves may be compressed, causing both local pain and radiating pain that shoots down one leg.

An epidural steroid injection delivers a powerful inflammation-reducing medication into the epidural space that surrounds the affected nerves.

These injections can calm the painful nerve signaling, including symptoms associated with herniated discs and spinal stenosis. Reducing inflammation may also make it easier to participate in physical therapy and everyday activities.

2. Facet joint injections

The small facet joints connecting the spinal bones (vertebrae) allow your spine to bend and twist. Arthritis, injury, and normal wear and tear can cause damage leading to significant back or neck pain.

With facet joint injections, your provider delivers medication directly around the affected joint to calm inflammation and discomfort. Facet joint injections can also be diagnostic, helping to determine whether a particular facet joint is responsible for your pain.

3. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)

If specific nerves are transmitting chronic pain signals, radiofrequency ablation may provide longer-lasting relief.

During RFA, your pain specialist guides a thin needle to the targeted nerve and uses radiofrequency energy to heat a small area of nerve tissue. This essentially deactivates the nerve, interrupting its ability to transmit pain signals to your brain while avoiding a large incision or extensive recovery.

4. Nerve blocks

A nerve block involves injecting medication near a specific nerve or group of nerves to interrupt pain signals.

Depending on the source of your symptoms, nerve blocks can serve two purposes: providing pain relief and helping your provider identify which nerves are contributing to your discomfort. That information can guide your next steps if additional treatment is necessary.

5. The MILD® procedure

When thickened ligament tissue reduces space within the spinal canal, lumbar spinal stenosis can make standing and walking increasingly painful. The MILD® (minimally invasive lumbar decompression) procedure uses specialized instruments inserted through a tiny incision to remove small amounts of this excess tissue. 

By creating more room for compressed nerves, the MILD procedure can improve mobility and reduce symptoms without implants or traditional open spine surgery.

Find the right treatment for your chronic pain

Minimally invasive doesn’t mean one-size-fits-all. The right treatment depends on what’s causing your pain, your symptoms, and how they affect your life.

Our caring specialists at Comprehensive Pain Management Partners develop personalized treatment plans designed to reduce pain and restore function. 

Book an appointment online or by phone today to explore your options and start reclaiming the activities chronic pain has taken away.