by: Dr. Michael A. Castillo I was told September is “Pain Awareness Month.” Pain is strictly an individual concept. Medicine uses a blank line 10cm long, 0-10/10 scale, smiley faces to crying faces, and other methods. None are really appropriate for all patients, or have been shown to cross reference to another person’s pain. There…
by: Dr. Michael A. Castillo Dr. Castillo’s thoughts about intrathecal pain pump management for treating back pain after surgeries. Intrathecal pain pump management is a proven safe and effective therapy for managing chronic pain. I send a lot of patients for surgery (We are working to heal the spine with our regenerative medicine practice. That…
May 5th thru the 12th is National Neuropathy Awareness Week. Neuropathy is a chronic condition that affects millions of people in America. While there is no cure for neuropathy, there are ways to manage the pain associated with it. Many groups including the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy and the American Health Council help patients dealing…
Acute and chronic pain have important differences that can give physicians important clues for diagnosing and treating pain. And the types of pain are different, in some cases acute pain can develop into chronic pain. Acute Pain By definition it is temporary, and it may occur suddenly usually associated with an injury or illness. Acute…
The main goal of treating degenerative scoliosis once it becomes symptomatic, is to reduce pain as well as any accompanying neurologic symptoms. Most treatments tend not to focus on correcting the curve because typically it is not the cause of pain. Most cases of degenerative scoliosis can be treated without surgery using self-care or assistance…
Skeletal muscles primarily function our way of moving by attaching to other muscles and joints. When those muscles get knotted up, like when you sleep on your neck wrong, or have a back spasm, trigger points develop causing the muscle to shorten and become dysfunctional. Myofasical trigger points prevent normal muscle function, not allowing the…
Should pain, stiffness, weakness, and loss of range of motion are all common symptoms of rotator cuff injuries. People with rotator cuff injuries sight pain, especially at night, as a symptom. Movement of the arm over the head, or reaching behind the back could cause pain as well. Patients report feeling the most stiffness in…
How to talk to your doctor about pain On a scale of 0 to 10 what is your pain? Patients who are asked to describe the level of their pain using a numerical scale or smiley faces. Pain scales are used from diagnosis to recovery and often help guide treatment. While the pain scale helps…
Simple remedies are often the best Those remedies your mom tells you to try, you know the ones.“Put your foot up. Ice it. Use the heating pad.” Can often be the best at relieving lower back pain. Heat therapy is one of those mother approved pain relief therapies. Using heat therapy to relieve lower back…
The exercise ball therapy is an exercise treatment option for back pain sufferers and is designed to help prevent or minimize further episodes of low back pain as part of a rehabilitation program. The exercise ball is effective in rehabilitation of the back because it strengthens and develops the core body muscles that help to stabilize the spine.…
