Sacroiliac Joint Injections The sacroiliac (SI) joint is the weight-bearing joint between the sacrum at the base of the spine and its connection to the ileum of the pelvis (Fig….

Facet Joint Procedures: Facet Joint Injections, Medial Branch Blocks, and Radiofrequency Ablation of the Medial Branches of the Spinal Nerve Roots The facet joint is a synovial-lined joint that links…

Trigger Point Injections for Myofascial Pain In order for a muscle to contract, actin and myosin strands slide over each other. These filaments then release, sliding back to their starting…

Introduction

Radiation Therapy Targeted radiation has become a valuable tool in treating both cancer and the pain caused by cancer. Roughly 50% of all cancer patients will receive radiotherapy at some…

Epidural Catheter Analgesia When most people hear the word epidural they think of what is administered to a woman for pain control before she delivers her baby. However, epidural simply…

Patient-controlled Analgesia Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) was first used in 1971. PCA is a way of delivering pain medication via a programmable (IV) infusion device (Fig. 16-1). The PCA machine which…

Opioids An opioid is a chemical substance that has a morphine-like action in the body. Opiates activate receptors that modulate our perception of painful stimuli (nocioceptive pain). Opiates act within…

Antiseizure Medications Used for Neuropathic Pain Neuropathic pain is a painful sensation from damaged nerves rather than damaged tissue (Fig. 14-1). A stimulus with sufficient strength triggers the start of…

Antidepressant Medications Used for Neuropathic Pain Pain is transmitted through the nervous system. There are two main types of pain. Nociceptive pain and Neuropathic pain. Nociceptive pain is the natural…