New Approaches to Interventional Pain Management in Light of the Opioid Crisis

Since OxyContin was introduced to the market in Maryland in the mid 90’s, the rise of opioid addiction has led to interventional pain management physicians re-evaluating and innovating with respect to the way chronic pain is treated. The Frederick News Post recently reported a significant increase in opioid-induced deaths.

As such, pain physicians in Frederick County are exploring new approaches to pain management in an effort to control the opioid crisis and reduce the rates of narcotic prescriptions. In recent years, due to the advancement of medical technology, doctors have leaned on other forms of treatment such as vertebroplasty, spinal cord stimulation, and prolotherapy to name a few. Moreover, intrathecal pumps are a way that doctors are able to deliver small doses of medication directly to the area of pain.

Anish Patel, M.D., the medical director of the Frederick, MD office of the National Spine & Pain Centers shares, “We’re talking sometimes up to one one-hundredth of a dose into the spine compared to what you’re taking by mouth. That’s a massive reduction in opioids. Plus pills, obviously, are much more easy to divert. It’s much easier for me to take some pills out and sell them as opposed to a liquid that is implanted into my body inside a steel pump.”

Dr. Patel is known for utilizing interventional medical and rehabilitative techniques to improve his patients’ lifestyles and help reduce their pain. Physicians like Dr. Patel recognize that arguably two of the greatest healthcare crises affecting America today are uncontrolled pain and the opioid epidemic. They strive to replace medications with innovative interventional pain management techniques that can provide lasting relief to patients suffering from chronic pain conditions.

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Photo Credit: Dan Gross from The Frederick News Post