Pain Relieving Injections – Pros & Cons
With Back & Body Medical being a collaborative care practice, we offer many treatment options and have the ability to create treatment plans based on the patient’s condition and injury. This is very powerful in helping patients get back to full fitness and health sooner rather than later. As we are all different, no one treatment is a “one size fits all” and so a combination of therapies may be needed to provide an effective recovery. One such treatment option are pain relieving injections.
We’ll take a look here at the pros and cons of two pain relieving injection options, namely corticosteroids and regenerative therapies.
Corticosteroids
The main focus of corticosteroids is to simply minimize the effects of pain. They do this basically by reducing the number of inflammatory cells which reduces inflammation and thus pain.
Pros
- Reduces inflammation by reducing mediators inflammatory cells
- Pain relief is experienced
Cons
- Joint degeneration may be a factor as collagen repair is inhibited Collagen
- Increase of fracture or bone loss
- Can be an overused treatment, particularly in tendinosis
- The actual healing process may be infringed upon
- Not a great long term solution
Orthobiologic Regeneratives
Regenerative medicine is the new kid on the block. It’s goal is to treat the condition rather than the symptoms which is a big plus compared to corticosteroids. There are many treatment types under this banner including PRP and platelet product injections. The goal is to actually treat damaged tissues, replace dysfunctional tissue cells and to improve the healing process on the actual injury.
Pros
- The introduction of the patient’s blood or a platelet product into the affected areas quickly improve function and healing
- Growth is stimulated at a cellular level to repair or replace damaged tissue cells
- The repair process is typically a more permanent result compared to corticosteroids which merely mask symptoms
Cons
- The treatment is still relatively new and specific condition treatment protocols are minimal
- Insurance generally does not cover the cost of treatment at this present time
Both treatment options can and do help patients and can be used alongside other treatment options to further improve healing and rehab. As we are a collaborative care practice, this is something we can discuss with you as we make our examination and discuss with the other doctors and therapists at Back & Body. This helps us to develop a treatment plan specifically for your condition, rather than a one size type approach. All out treatment plans are evidence based and our knowledge and experience helps us find the right solution for you sooner rather than later.
If you are in pain, suffer from back pain, neck pain, headaches or whatever, come in and see us, we can help. We also accept insurance and would be delighted to help you out of pain. Call us today or Schedule an appointment.
