Chronic pain is one of the most complex health conditions to treat because it is so unique to the individual. What works for one person isn’t guaranteed to work for another, and sometimes many different treatment options are required in combination with one another in order to provide relief.

In our experience, painkillers and opioids can be effective for the right patient when used in combination with other treatment options, but they aren’t a good primary source of treatment. What we mean by that is we’ve never seen a patient get better solely by taking an opioid. They may be helpful in conjunction with dietary changes and other interventions, but they aren’t a great stand-alone option because they don’t address the root problem. Because of this, we want to share five chronic pain treatment options that can treat the root cause of pain and help you find relief. Below, we share five non-opioid treatment options that may be effective for your chronic pain condition.

Treating Chronic Pain Without Meds

This is a general guide of some treatment options we’ve found effective for some common types of chronic pain. For individualized care and a treatment plan tailored to your specific condition, please reach out to our office.

1. Exercise – Exercise is one of the most basic treatment options for some types of chronic pain. Exercise pushes healthy blood through your body, which can help structures function properly, and it works to strengthen supportive muscle groups. If back pain is causing discomfort, some low-stress exercises like swimming, walking or yoga may be just what you need to calm spinal nerve compression or strengthen key muscle groups that can contribute to pain.

2. Physical Therapy – A close cousin of exercise is physical therapy. PT is great for a number of different patients, but it’s especially helpful for those chronic pain patients who are battling arthritis or joint issues. Physical therapy helps you reestablish mobility and range of motion in the joint, and it can help prevent the further progression of arthritis, keeping you more mobile. Physical therapy works by targeting specific areas with certain exercises, stretches and movements.

3. Tens Unit – We’ve talked about TENS units on the blog in the past, but they can be just what the doctor ordered for the right patient. TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, and it is a small device that transmits electrical signals to drown out pain signals. Many of them are widely used among patients who suffer chronic headaches or migraines. You can learn more about different units and their uses in the above link.

4. Spinal Cord Stimulation – Spinal cord stimulation is another topic we’ve talked about in the past. They work similar to a TENS unit in that they provide electrical stimulation to drown out painful nerve signals, but these can be implanted inside the patient and controlled by a device to provide different types of stimulation as pain develops. New technology means these devices can even be recharged while still in the body. Again, you can learn more about this option in our expanded post in the above link.

5. Nerve Blocks – Finally, Dr. Cohn’s offers nerve blocks and corticosteroid injections for patients who are dealing with certain chronic pain conditions. For chronic muscles spasms or irritated spinal nerves, a calming injection can provide relief and allow patients the ability to pursue other active treatments, like PT or exercise. They aren’t always a very good stand-alone long-term solution, but they can be paired with other techniques to provide symptom relief.