Got Chronic Pain? Here’s How Injections, Nerve Blocks, and Minimally Invasive Procedures Can Help

Chronic pain affects nearly 25% of American adults, causing disabling long-term poor health. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt; it also affects how you move, sleep, think, work, and enjoy life. When pain lasts for months or years, it can make even simple tasks feel exhausting.

Many people try rest, over-the-counter medications, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes first. Sometimes, those steps help. Other times, the pain keeps coming back. At Advanced Pain Management, we help patients understand why they hurt and what treatment options are available for them.

Chronic pain rarely has one simple cause, so we look at the full picture. Your pain may come from irritated nerves, inflamed joints, spinal discs, arthritis, muscle tension, injury, or a combination of problems.

Despite what you may fear, you don’t always need major surgery to get relief. Many chronic pain treatments use targeted, minimally invasive methods to calm pain, reduce inflammation, and improve movement.

Why targeted pain treatment matters

Pain often starts in one area but spreads through the body over time. For example, a pinched nerve in your lower back may cause leg pain, tingling, and weakness. Arthritis in your spine can cause neck or back pain that worsens with standing or twisting. An irritated joint could send pain into nearby muscles.

Targeted treatments help us focus on the exact area causing trouble. Instead of masking pain with medication alone, injections, nerve blocks, and minimally invasive procedures aim to interrupt pain signals or reduce irritation at their source.

Pain relief specific to you

These treatments don’t work the same way for everyone, but they often help patients move better, sleep more comfortably, and return to daily activities with less pain. Here are the main treatments we offer.

Injections

Pain-relieving injections place medication near irritated tissues, joints, or nerves. We use imaging guidance, like X-ray or ultrasound, to place the medication as accurately as possible.

Epidural steroid injections can help when inflammation around spinal nerves causes back, neck, arm, or leg pain. These injections help patients with sciatica, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and nerve irritation.

Facet joint injections target small joints in the spine. These joints help your spine bend and twist, but arthritis or injury can make them painful. If facet joints cause your pain, an injection can reduce inflammation and help confirm the diagnosis.

Sacroiliac (SI) injections target the joints where the lower spine meets the pelvis. SI joint pain can feel like lower back, hip, buttock, or leg pain.

Trigger point injections treat tight, painful muscle knots. These knots can cause local pain or send pain to nearby areas. A small injection helps the muscle relax and improves comfort.

Nerve blocks

Nerve blocks target a specific nerve or group of nerves. They usually contain a local anesthetic and sometimes a steroid to reduce pain signals and inflammation.

Nerve blocks serve two purposes. First, they relieve pain. Second, they help us identify where pain originates. If a block provides significant temporary relief, it suggests that the treated nerve is the root of your symptoms.

Different nerve blocks treat different pain patterns. For example, a medial branch block targets nerves that carry pain from facet joints in the spine, while a stellate ganglion block targets nerves on either side of your neck, helping with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Relief from a nerve block can last for hours, days, weeks, or longer. The results depend on your condition, the medication used, and how your body responds.

Radiofrequency ablation

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses heat from radio waves to quiet specific pain-carrying nerves. It sends radio waves through a precisely placed needle to heat part of a nerve and reduce pain signals to the brain.

RFA often helps people with chronic neck pain, lower back pain, and arthritis-related joint pain. Before RFA, we administer a diagnostic nerve block. If the block helps, RFA may offer longer-lasting relief.

Finding the right chronic pain treatment

No single treatment works for every type of chronic pain. That’s why Advanced Pain Management starts with a careful evaluation. We review your symptoms, medical history, prior treatments, imaging results, and physical exam findings. Then we explain your options in plain language, so you understand what each treatment involves and what results you might expect.

Chronic pain can make life feel smaller, but treatment helps you move forward. If pain keeps you from sleeping, working, exercising, or enjoying your day, you don’t have to keep pushing through it. We offer injections, nerve blocks, and minimally invasive procedures designed to target pain and support better function.

Call Advanced Pain Management to arrange an evaluation or send us an online inquiry. We have offices in Tucson and throughout the Phoenix, Arizona, area.