Acupuncture

Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and the digestive system. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture can help to resolve pain and improve sleep, digestive function, and sense of well-being.

How does acupuncture affect the body? Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system. This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical changes may stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being. Traditional Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a harmonious balance of the complementary extremes of “yin” and “yang” of the life force known as “qi,” pronounced “chi.” Illness is said to be the consequence of an imbalance of the forces. Qi is said to flow through meridians, or pathways, in the human body. These meridians and energy flows are accessible through 350 acupuncture points in the body.

Inserting needles into these points with appropriate combinations is said to bring the energy flow back into proper balance. An acupuncturist will examine the patient and assess their condition, insert one or more thin, sterile needles, and offer advice on self-care or other complementary therapies, such as Chinese herbs. The patient will be asked to lie down on their back, front, or one side, depending on where the needles are to be inserted. The acupuncturist should use single-use, disposable, sterile needles. As each needle is inserted, the patient may feel a very brief stinging or tingling sensation.

After the needle is inserted, there is occasionally a dull ache at the base of the needle that then subsides. Acupuncture is usually relatively painless. The needles will stay in place for between 5 and 30 minutes. The number of treatments needed depends on the individual. A person with a chronic condition may need one to two treatments a week over several months. An acute problem normally improves after 8 to 12 sessions.

Caudal Epidural Steroid Injection

This outpatient procedure is an injection of a steroid-anesthetic medication through an opening in the sacrum. The medication can reduce swelling and inflammation of irritated spinal nerves. The injection takes only a few minutes to complete.

Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy

This minimally-invasive procedure, also called radiofrequency (or RF) rhizotomy, reduces or eliminates the pain of damaged facet joints by disrupting the medial branch nerves that carry the pain signals. This procedure is performed with local anesthetic.

Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection

This injection relieves pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms caused by a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the cervical spine. Conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or radiculopathy can compress nerves, causing inflammation and pain. The medication injected helps decrease the swelling of nerves.

Discography

Discography, also called discogram, is a diagnostic procedure used to determine if back pain is caused by one or more discs. The procedure involves pressurizing discs with an injection of sterile liquid to induce pain in the affected discs. Discography helps the specialist plan a course of treatment.

Facet Joint Injections

The facet joints, found on both sides of the back of the spine, can become painfully irritated or inflamed. A facet joint injection may help diagnose the source of a patient’s pain. It can also relieve pain and inflammation.

Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection

This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. Steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions.

Lumbar Radiofrequency Neurotomy

This minimally-invasive procedure, also called radiofrequency (RF) rhizotomy, reduces or eliminates the pain of damaged facet joints by disrupting the medial branch nerves that carry the pain signals. This procedure is performed with local anesthetic.

Lumbar Sympathetic Block

This procedure is performed to relieve leg pain caused by complex regional pain syndromes, which may develop after an injury to a joint or limb. Usually a series of injections are needed to treat the problem.

Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection

This outpatient procedure is an injection of a steroid-anesthetic medication. The medication can reduce swelling and inflammation of irritated spinal nerves. This procedure is performed to relieve pain in the lower back and pain that radiates from the back to the legs. The injection takes only a few minutes to complete.

Medial Branch Block

This diagnostic procedure is performed to identify a painful facet joint. The facet joints are the joints between the vertebrae in the spine. They allow the spine to bend, flex and twist.

Percutaneous Lumbar Discectomy (Dekompressor Discectomy)

This minimally-invasive procedure uses a small needle and probe device to reduce a herniated disc, quickly relieving pain in most patients. The procedure may be performed on an outpatient basis using a gentle, relaxing medicine and local anesthetic.

Psychological services

Having a painful condition is stressful. Unfortunately, stress can contribute to a range of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. In addition, stress can trigger muscle tension or muscle spasms that may increase pain. Managing your emotions can directly affect the intensity of your pain. Your body is aching and the pain feels unbearable. The last thing you want to hear is, “it’s all in your head.” For people with chronic pain, the discomfort is very real, and they know all too well they feel it in their bodies.

Sacroiliac Joint Steroid Injection

This injection procedure is performed to relieve pain caused by arthritis in the sacroiliac joint where the spine and hip bone meet. The steroid medication can reduce swelling and inflammation in the joint.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation (also called neurostimulation) uses electrical impulses to relieve chronic pain of the back and legs. It is believed that electrical pulses prevent pain signals from being received by the brain. Neurostimulation candidates include people who suffer from neuropathic pain and for whom conservative treatments have failed.

Trigger Point Injections

This outpatient procedure is designed to reduce or relieve the pain of trigger points. These small, tender knots can form in muscles or in the fascia (the soft, stretchy connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs). The trigger point injection procedure takes only a few minutes to complete.

Stem Cell and PRP Therapy

Stem cell injections and PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy allow for regenerative healing and pain relief through injections of plasma and adult stem cells. These treatments can be used to alleviate many conditions including knee injuries, arthritis, joint pain and inflammation, back injuries, and bodily pain.

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This is a complete list of conditions that stem cell injection treatments and PRP therapy can treat:

Ketamine Infusion Therapy

In the last 20 years, Ketamine has gradually been used more in non-traditional ways, including treating depression and other mood disorders, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS/RSD), and other pain conditions. In the last decade, a great deal of clinical research has been conducted by leading institutions all over the world proving IV (intravenous) ketamine’s efficacy in the treatment of these conditions; regularly reporting a 70% success rate or higher.

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Ketamine Infusion Therapy can be used to treat the following symptoms, including treatment-resistant depression and CRPS. It is fast, effective, and does not have long term side effects with appropriate dosages.

Electro Nerve Regeneration (ENR)

At Relievus has board certified pain physicians with many years of experience and all sorts of skills. Our physicians specialize in relieving and managing pain. You can come to us for the right care, from real professional physicians. We are based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and have many highly skilled and certified pain physicians.

We offer an alternative treatment for pain, called Electro Nerve Regeneration Therapy; ENR Therapy for short. Electro Nerve Regeneration (ENR) Therapy is a breakthrough electromedical treatment proven to effectively alleviate pain, tingling, burning and numbness resulting from neuropathy and chronic nerve conditions. It is an electrotherapy treatment similar to shock therapy, and is a very effective treatment for diabetic neuropathy and nerve pain. It can successfully help neuropathy symptoms and nerve pain of varying intensities in different areas of the body.

Patients have regained improved sensation range of motion, balance and restful sleep as well as eliminated pain and numbness. The treatment is performed with an advanced medical device, a breakthrough treatment for relieving nerve pain. The Electro Nerve Regeneration (ENR) Therapy is non-narcotic, nonsurgical and noninvasive.

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ENR can help treat the following conditions:

MILD Procedure

mild® is a safe procedure that can help patients diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) stand longer and walk farther with less pain.  It is a short, outpatient procedure, performed through a very small incision (about the size of a baby aspirin) that requires no general anesthesia, no implants, and no stitches. Study data show that 79% of patients experience a significant reduction in pain and a significant increase in mobility.  In addition, the mild® procedure has been proven to have a very low risk of major complications.

How mild® Works

The mild® procedure has been performed safely on thousands of patients. A doctor who is certified to perform mild® will use an imaging machine and specialized tools to remove small pieces of bone and excess ligament tissue through a tiny incision in your back. Removing these elements restores space in the spinal canal and decreases the compression of the nerves, which reduces pain and restores mobility. Some doctors have described the goal of the procedure as being similar to “removing a kink in a drinking straw.”

What You Can Expect With mild®?

Vertiflex Superion Procedure

The Vertiflex Superion procedure is an innovative and minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS). Once placed, the device helps open up the narrow area of your spine, relieving the pressure and pain associated with spinal stenosis.

How effective is the treatment?

Based on a study published in the Journal of Pain Research in November 2018, the researchers examined and characterized the opioid medication usage patterns among patients treated with stand-alone IPD through 5 years of postoperative follow-up. The primary analysis included all 190 patients randomized to receive the Superion® device. In a sub-group of 98 subjects, they determined opioid medication prevalence among subjects with a prior history of opioid use. The results indicated that between baseline and 5 years, there was an 85% decrease in the proportion of subjects using opioids, and a decreased opioid medication usage was also observed among the sub-group of subjects with a history of opiates prior to entering the trial.

This finding extends previous results with IPD showing long-term sustained clinical improvements, a reduction in symptoms of neurogenic claudication and a decreasing requirement for revision surgery in this population.

The symptoms of LSS often include

• Pain while walking
• APain relief when sitting or bending forward
• CNumbness or “tingling” feeling in your legs, calves, or buttocks
• Weakness and/or loss of balance
• Aching, dull back pain spreading to your legs
• Decreased endurance during physical activities
• Pain, weakness, tingling and/or cramping in the legs, buttocks, and/or back (neurogenic intermittent claudication)
• Using a cane, walker, or shopping cart to move around more comfortably

Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Decompression

Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar laminectomy or laminectomy (PELL) is a minimally invasive surgical technique to treat lumbar canal stenosis. The procedure is undertaken using a single port endoscope, as with percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PED). Because PED has the powerful advantage of structural preservation, it allows for short hospital stays and early recovery of the patient. PELL and PED are conceptually very similar, in that they are both minimally invasive.

Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Spinal Cord Stimulation

Devices to stimulate the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) became available in the mid-2010s for treating chronic pain, particularly in areas that were hard to treat with traditional spinal cord stimulation, such as the hand, chest, abdomen, foot, knee or groin.

The DRG is an easily accessible structure in the spine that plays a key role in the development and management of chronic neuropathic pain. It is a bundle of sensory nerve cell bodies within the epidural space. Each nerve root communicates to the dorsal root ganglion in a way that allows sensory messages from a defined area of the body. Therefore, applying stimulation to the DRG can permit focused therapy to a specific focal area.