Pain physician
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The shoulder joint is an enarthrodial or ball-and-socket joint. A complex network of anatomic structures endows the human shoulder with tremendous mobility, greater than any other joint in the body. Many pathologies can been found in those patients with chronic shoulder pain. ⋯ Her pain and shoulder range of motion in all planes improved dramatically. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) of the suprascapular nerve, in addition to multimodality pain management, is one approach to the difficult task of treating adhesive capsulitis with accompanying pain and the inability to move the shoulder. We conducted a literature review on PubMed and found no case describing a similar patient to our knowledge.
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Interlaminar cervical epidural steroid injections (ic-ESI) are safe and effective treatment options for the management of acute and chronic radiculopathy, spinal stenosis, and other causes of neck pain not responding to more conservative measures. However, the procedure inherently lends itself to possible spinal cord injury (SCI). Though reports of such events have been documented, the clinical presentation of patients with needle puncture SCI varies. ⋯ Though most cases of devastating outcomes, such as hemiplegia and death, have been reported during cervical transforaminal epidural injections and rarely with ic-ESI, it is important to understand the symptoms and potential pitfalls of performing any cervical epidural injection. Cervical epidural malpractice claims are uncommon, but exceed those of steroid blocks at all the levels combined, demonstrating the need for improved awareness of potential complications in ic-ESI. Here, we will describe an unusual presentation of a spinal cord injection during an ic-ESI procedure.
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We report a new technique for pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of the entire nerve supply of the knee as an option in treating osteoarthritis (OA) of knee. We targeted both sensory and motor nerves supplying all the structures around the knee: joint, muscles, and skin to address the entire nociception and stiffness leading to peripheral and central sensitization in osteoarthritis. Ten patients with pain, stiffness, and loss of function in both knees were treated with ultrasonography (USG) guided PRF of saphenous, tibial, and common peroneal nerves along with subsartorial, peripatellar, and popliteal plexuses. ⋯ The sustained pain relief and muscle relaxation enabled the patients to optimize physiotherapy thereby improving endurance training to include the daily activities of life. We conclude that OA knee pain is a product of neuromyopathy and that PRF of the sensory and motor nerves appeared to be a safe, effective, and minimally invasive technique. The reduction of pain and stiffness improved the knee function and probably reduced the peripheral and central sensitization.
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The causes of upper extremity radicular pain or neck pain are varied, often involving disc herniation, spinal stenosis, or spondylosis. Cervical transformaminal epidural steroid injection (C-TFESI) is a common treatment for such pain. However, its efficacy conceivably may depend on needle-tip placement, linking the degree of pain reduction achieved to the pattern of contrast dispersion. ⋯ C-TFESI is an effective treatment for cervical radicular pain that is refractory to conventional conservative remedies. However, therapeutic response to C-TFESI and dispersion pattern of injected contrast failed to correlate in this study.
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Lumbosacral radicular pain is a common clinical finding with a statistical prevalence ranging from 9.9% to 25% in the general population. ⋯ PRF of dorsal root ganglion performed with a multifunctional electrode for > 240 seconds appears to be safe and might be more effective than the classic 120 seconds needle-mediated approach. Therefore, it may be considered as a valuable tool for the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain with neuropathic features.