Wednesday 17 April 2019

Exploring Perineural Injection Therapy For Back Pain

By Michael Hayes


Back pain can often be some of the most debilitating pain in the world. Before strict regulations were placed on opioids and other narcotics, primary care providers would often prescribe medication to ease pain. As a response to these regulations, most primary care providers placed clients on pain management while others began providing different forms of pain relieving injections. Perineural Injection Therapy is one of the newest forms of these injection based treatments.

When it comes to PIT, the practice has been rated safe and effective for individuals who can not undergo joint replacement surgeries, stem cell injections or other prescription medication. PIT is primarily used for nerves which have become inflamed or injured. This type of nerve damage is often a result of injuries related to surgery, trauma, arthritis, sports, occupational hazards and overuse of joints and muscles.

As any sensation which is perceived by the brain is transmitted to the central nervous system, minor and major pain are both reactive to PIT. When a nerve or nerves are stimulated by pain, individual nerve cells create an electrical current which travels to the spinal cord and eventually, the brain. A good representation of this experience is to imagine a door, when a nerve cell is activated, the door opens and lets molecules such as potassium, sodium, calcium and others in and out of the cell.

While the door is open, the nerve cell moves from one room to another. As a result, an electrical current stimulates the nerve. When the stimulation is complete, the door closes. Whereas, if a nerve is injured, the process is disrupted and like with squeaky doors, muscles and joints can often tighten and cause pain and discomfort.

Nerves and joints host a substance, nerve growth factors which are responsible for generating pain. For, if a nerve is injured, the nerve still sends a signal to the brain even if there is no pain present at the time. After which, the nerve creates a sensation often known as a short circuit to the nerve and joint, much like that of an open electrical wire when submerged in water.

The substance in the joints can often cause pain and prevent healing in tissue, muscles, tendons and ligaments. When this occurs, it is often referred to as neurogenic inflammation. For, while pain causes inflammation, the joints and nerves are generating the pain.

Nerves throughout the body can become injured or inflamed in different ways. In some cases, pain is generated when inflamed nerves travel through bone, such as the gluteal nerves near the pelvic bone, slightly above the gluteus muscles at the waistline. In fact, these nerves are often a frequent source of lower hip and back pain.

While PIT can be used for pain in many different areas of the body, back pain is the most common. When used for lumbar or lower back pain, a health care provider injects dextrose into the trigger point near the lower back which activates the nerve cell. After which, the nerve cell receptor allows the door to open, thus restoring the cell to normal function resulting in a decrease and eventually, elimination of pain.




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