Our goal is to treat your condition, not just manage your pain. Our providers are trained to implement Interventional Pain Management techniques and will work to offer pain relief, often avoiding heavy medication and surgery.
If you are experiencing pain for longer than four weeks, you should see a pain specialist. Early intervention can increase your chance of complete recovery, and prolonging professional treatment can severely worsen your condition.
* Once the cause of the pain is determined, a personalized treatment plan will be recommended by our providers.
For more information about Flint Hills Pain Management call (785) 320-7576
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a condition that causes the immune system to attack a person's joints, leading to pain, swelling, and stiffness. Unlike other types of arthritis, RA affects joints bilaterally and can affect other parts of the body such as the skin, lungs, or heart. Although women are more likely to have RA, men also can be affected. In total, approximately one percent of the population suffers from this condition.
In a patient with RA, an unknown event triggers the immune system to move immune cells into the tissues of the joints, creating inflammation that causes painful symptoms and eventually wears away cartilage that cushions the neighboring bones. In this way, untreated RA can lead to deterioration of a patient's condition as the cartilage and bones become increasingly damaged. Early treatment is critical to slowing or even stopping this progression.
About 500,000 bike riders each year visit emergency rooms nationwide with bike-related injuries. Although most of these injuries are not life-threatening, prompt treatment is the best way to ensure a speedy and full recovery. Flint Hills Pain Management specializes in treating common bike-related injuries with a combination of therapies. Our approach focuses on helping your body heal, and not just managing your pain.
Discs are soft, sponge-like structures that lie between each vertebra in the spine to cushion movement and absorb impact. Sometimes injury or normal wear-and-tear can cause discs to extend out of their normal place within the spinal column, or "bulge." Many times, a bulging disc is asymptomatic, and the patient is not even aware that it has happened. However, sometimes the disc will push on a nerve or other surrounding tissue, causing several uncomfortable symptoms.
Common symptoms of a bulging disc include pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness in the arms or legs. Because the disc puts pressure on a nerve in the spine, and spinal nerves travel throughout the body, a classic sign of a bulging disc is one or more of these symptoms traveling down an arm or leg.
Often bulging discs will heal on their own with rest, over-the-counter medication, and heat and ice packs. Physical therapy, medication, chiropractic care, or interventional pain management may also be recommended by your doctor depending on the severity and nature of your condition. Severe cases that do not respond to conservative treatment may require surgery.
Pain caused by cancer has a very individual-specific treatment. A treatment regimen that benefits you most has to be developed with the help of your physician. Non-drug pain treatments that are commonly used are: Nerve Blocks, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Intrathecal Pumps, Massage, and more.
The carpal tunnel is a sheath in the lower forearm that has a nerve running through it. This nerve is a communication passageway for signals from the arm into the hand. If other tissues of the wrist are injured or inflamed due to irritation, they are likely to press into the carpal tunnel. This pressure can cause pain, tingling, and other symptoms as the tunnel is forced into the nerve. These symptoms can also travel up the arm or into the hand.
If you suffer from chronic back pain, you know how great an impact your pain can have on the rest of your life. Living with consistent pain in your back is just not sustainable. Perhaps you have received a diagnosis for your back pain but have been told that there is nothing that can be done. Or perhaps you are unwilling or unable to submit to surgery, knowing that up to a third of back surgeries are unsuccessful and may even leave you feeling worse.
Whether your chronic back pain has been worked up extensively, or you are just beginning to seek treatment, the specialists at Flint Hills Pain Management are here to help. Our highly trained pain management providers are experienced in recognizing and treating a vast array of back pain conditions. We often treat patients who have all but given up hope that someone can help them. We pride ourselves in being able to present these patients with treatment options that they may not have tried before, many times providing them with relief after just a few visits.
Our pain specialist will perform a complete examination and discuss the history of the problem with you. They will recommend a course of treatment designed to help you feel better as soon as possible. This treatment plan will likely include procedures or therapies to immediately relieve your discomfort, followed by treatments to help resolve the underlying condition that is causing the problem.
Chronic muscle tension can derive from many conditions. It is important that you visit your physician to determine the real cause and rule out any serious conditions.
The neck is a complex system of joints, ligaments, and muscles, any number of which can become injured or deteriorate and cause you pain. Whether your neck pain was brought on by a traumatic injury or is the result of a chronic condition, our team of providers provide you with a treatment plan that can result in reducing or eliminating the pain.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is an incurable, chronic condition in which the nervous system sends painful signals that cause burning sensations, swelling, stiffness, and altered appearance of the affected area. Also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), this condition can sometimes occur after an injury. The exact cause is not known, but there are several treatments that can bring relief.
There are five types of arthritis, which in general means joint inflammation. Providers at Flint Hills Pain Management are specialized in treating a vast range of arthritis-related symptoms and offer interventional pain management to relieve your pain and increase joint mobility.
Degenerative disc disease is a condition in which one of the discs of the spine wears down as part of a normal aging process. All people develop some degree of degeneration in their discs as they get older; however, not everyone experiences discomfort because of the degeneration.
Painful symptoms occur for patients with degenerative disc disease when the changes in the disc impact the surrounding tissues in some way. For example, perhaps the disc causes swelling in the surrounding area, which then puts pressure on a nerve or causes a muscle spasm. Generally, the pain is mild and comes and goes, flaring up depending on a person's activity level on a particular day. Certain types of activity can also make pain worse, while different positions may help a patient feel better.
Degenerative Joint Disease occurs when the vertebrae of the spine cause abnormal wear-and-tear on the joints within the spine. This damage occurs due to misalignment of the vertebrae; accordingly, it is important to address spinal problems before they can cause damage. Deterioration of the joints can also cause discs to herniate or bulge, further irritating nerves and causing additional discomfort.
Peripheral neuropathy refers to conditions in which nerve damage has occurred due to injury, nerve-related disease, or as a side effect of another illness. Sometimes diabetes can cause this condition.
All medication, including narcotics, is accompanied by unwanted symptoms, some of them serious. Moreover, most pain relief medication only covers the alarm your body has been sending trying to tell you something needs to be fixed.
Patients suffering from face pain may have Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN), a condition involving sharp pains to one side of the face during intermittent attacks. This condition most frequently afflicts patients who are middle aged or older, especially women and those suffering from multiple sclerosis. During a period of frequent attacks, many patients suffering from this condition find that they are afraid to move their mouth at all lest they trigger a painful episode.
The spine is made up of a column of bones, called vertebrae. If these bones were to be stacked on top of each other with nothing in between, the spine would be stiff and inflexible. Instead, these bones are separated by joints that allow them to move freely against one another. These joints are called facet joints.
There are two facet joints at each level of the spine; that is, each vertebra has a facet joint on its left and right side. These joints can become irritated or injured due to an accident or normal deterioration that comes with age. Such damage can cause a great deal of pain and stiffness, often accompanied by powerful muscle spasms. Pain caused by facet joints in the neck can also cause headaches.
Continued deterioration can be accompanied by arthritis-like symptoms such as swelling, bone spur growth, and decreased cartilage. Patients who suffer from these symptoms are said to have facet joint syndrome.
Common treatments for facet syndrome include physical therapy, heat, chiropractic, medication, and interventional pain management.
Patients are described as having Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS) if they have undergone surgery to the back or neck that did not improve their condition. Some patients with FBSS may even have experienced a worsening of their condition after surgery. Alarmingly, more than forty percent of back pain surgeries are not successful. The good news is that it is unlikely that your chronic back pain will require surgery. There are numerous less invasive and more successful treatments you can choose from: spinal decompression, physical therapy, epidural injections, spinal manipulation, and many others.
Fatigue is a very common symptom for a vast range of health conditions such as: infections, stress, depression, heart disease, cancer, sleep disorders, and more. It is important to see your physician and seek a professional diagnosis to rule out any serious sources of fatigue.
The main symptom that affects fibromyalgia patients is muscle pain, but other symptoms include fatigue, headaches, and trouble sleeping. This disorder affects the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in ways that are often confused with other conditions. It has no known cause, but approximately five million patients in the United States suffer from it.
Foot pain is very common and is often caused by bone spurs, stress fractures, Achilles tendinitis, bursitis, neuropathy, osteoarthritis, neuromas, tarsal tunnel, or any other injuries to the 26 bones or 33 joints that are in your foot. The causes can be either structural or neuropathic. Treatments that are available include non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), opioid medications, physical therapy, steroid injections, lumbar epidural steroid injections, lumbar sympathetic blockade, neuromodulation via TENS unit, Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS), and others.
Headaches are a daily nuisance for many Americans. Some are plagued by migraines, which are intense headaches often accompanied by nausea and altered sensory perception.
The spine is made up of a column of bones called vertebrae. The vertebrae are protected from encountering one another by soft, spongy pillows called discs. Healthy discs cushion the vertebrae during spinal movement and absorb impact when you walk.
Sometimes, discs can become injured or diseased, causing the disc to bulge out of its usual place. Severe injury can even cause the disc to rupture. Often a disc can herniate and not cause any pain; however, sometimes the disc can put pressure on neighborhood tissues or nerves, which can be extremely painful.
A classic sign of a herniated disc are symptoms that radiate down one or more arms or legs. Symptoms can include pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness. Usually, a bulging disc in the neck, or cervical spine, will cause problems in the arms, while a disc in the low back, or lumbar spine, will result in leg symptoms.
In many cases, a herniated disc will heal on its own with rest and palliative care such as heat and ice packs. If the pain persists, conservative treatments such as physical therapy or chiropractic manipulation may be helpful. Only the most severe cases require surgical intervention. Many patients find that interventional pain management is an excellent solution to their disc-related back pain as it allows them to avoid surgery and heavy medication.
As a weight-bearing joint, the hip is designed to support our bodies while still permitting a large range of motion. Both injury and normal wear-and-tear can cause damage to the joint, leading to several painful conditions.
Perhaps the most common source of hip pain is arthritis, which can also affect other joints of the leg. The hips and legs can also be painful due to sporting activity, which can lead to irritated or injured ligaments, tendons, joints, or muscles. Sometimes discomfort in the legs can include burning or tingling. These symptoms may be a sign of radiculopathy.
Exercise is not just for staying healthy and losing weight. Performing well-planned, therapeutic exercises also helps improve your condition and relieve your pain. Movement provides important stimulation to the injured area, which is crucial to the healing process. It also stretches the surrounding tissues, which improves stiffness and increases range of motion. Strengthening the area is also important to prevent future injury.
Many patients who are suffering from pain or other uncomfortable symptoms do not feel comfortable exercising. Either movement makes the pain worse, or they are worried about injuring themselves further. However, failure to move around means that the muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, and even the discs in the spine will get stiff, potentially leading to additional pain, swelling, and stiffness.
While your painful condition may be preventing you from staying active, our therapists will show you ways to keep moving that will not irritate or worsen your condition. We provide you with a customized home exercise program that will rehabilitate your condition while allowing you to prevent future injuries. Also, our interventional pain management anesthesiologist will perform treatments to relieve swelling and pain so that you can do the exercises more freely.
We provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to joint problems caused by pigmented villonodular synovitis, diastrophic dysplasia, and arthritis.
Physicians usually describe a joint as being stiff when the patient is not physically capable of moving the joint as much as would be considered normal. A joint may also be considered stiff by patients when the joint is painful or uncomfortable to move.
The knee is a complex system of discs, bones, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage. Any number of these components can be damaged by injury, overuse, or the wear-and-tear that comes with age. To determine the source of your knee pain, your physician will need to hear a complete history of the problem and may order an x-ray or MRI to look for signs of damage or deterioration. We provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to your pain.
Pain and stiffness can really slow you down. But even though pain can keep you on the couch, most painful conditions will only get worse with lack of activity, instead of better. That's where interventional pain management can help! By relieving the pain and inflammation that is limiting your mobility, you will then be able to participate more fully in a rehabilitation program designed to recover your strength and range of motion.
Low back pain is a common problem in our society. Injury, chronic conditions, and several lifestyle factors may be at the root of your discomfort. In most instances, you can manage mild back pain at home, and it will resolve within a few weeks. However, severe, or chronic back pain should be discussed with a physician. Depending on the type and severity of your condition, we have several treatments to help you feel better fast.
The middle back, including the thoracic spine, consists of several important muscles, nerves, vertebrae, and discs. All these components must work together properly to allow your body to bend, twist, straighten, and stretch comfortably. Injury, overuse, or age-related deterioration can cause the parts of the middle back to become irritated or damaged, causing pain and stiffness. Because of the complex nature of the back, you should always consult a professional for treatment of any back pain that is intense or lasts longer than a couple of weeks.
A migraine is an intense headache often accompanied by nausea and altered sensory perception, such as sensitivity to light or sound. The exact cause of migraines is unknown.
Muscle pain often causes a decrease of daily activities and may be due to many medical conditions.
A muscle spasm occurs when the muscle spontaneously contracts, causing severe discomfort. Generally, muscle spasms can be avoided through lifestyle changes such as drinking more water, eating well, and stretching before exercise. However, if muscle spasms occur frequently or are disruptive to your daily life, you should consult a physician.
Muscle tension can be caused by several different medical problems or injuries. Accordingly, muscle tension that does not go away should always be evaluated by a physician.
Neuropathic pain is a type of pain which is caused by disease or damage to the nervous system. There is no one specific explanation for all neuropathic pain. Each individual patient's condition is unique.
Neurological pain is any pain caused by damage or irritation to the nerves. This pain is generally intense and severe. It can be challenging to treat. A combination of approaches may be required to resolve or manage neurological pain.
Osteoarthritis, the most common type of arthritis, is caused by the deterioration of the soft tissues in one or more joints. This deterioration can be caused by overuse, injury, or simply the normal wear-and-tear that comes with aging. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and stiffness. There are several effective treatments that can manage these symptoms and slow the progression of arthritis.
You don't have to have a dangerous or even a physically demanding job to have a work-related injury. Although many painful conditions result from accidents that occur in the workplace, employees can also get hurt from environmental irritants, overuse, repetitive movements, and poor posture. Even someone who sits at a desk all day can develop a painful condition under the wrong circumstances. Accordingly, it is important for employers and employees to be conscious not only of workplace safety, but also of injury prevention measures such as ergonomic seating, regular breaks, and a healthy work environment.
Pelvic pain is an umbrella term used to describe any pain originating in the lower abdomen. For women, the reproductive organs, urinary tract, or lower intestines are often the source of the problem. For men, it is likely that the prostate may be the source of the pain. Any severe or ongoing pain in the lower abdomen should be evaluated by your physician.
The plantar fascia is a collection of tissues on the bottom of the foot. The structure of the plantar fascia is what creates the arch of the foot. However, this area of the foot is prone to injury, both due to trauma or overuse. The pain and inflammation that characterizes this type of injury is called plantar fasciitis. Improper footwear or failure to warm up appropriately can also contribute to plantar fasciitis. This condition is notoriously slow to improve.
After a limb has been amputated, many amputees will report feeling that the limb is still attached. This "phantom limb" can result in pain, tingling, or hot and cold sensations. Although this feeling usually dissipates over time, some patients continue to experience discomfort. Several treatments are available.
Polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder that is a symptom of multiple conditions. Patients suffer from polyneuropathy when multiple nerves throughout the body are not working properly. Symptoms are usually bilateral and include pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness. They can begin seemingly out of nowhere or develop over time. Conditions that cause polyneuropathy include diabetes, autoimmune disease, environmental factors, certain medications, alcohol abuse, and infection. Many patients who experience polyneuropathy do not have any known cause for their symptoms.
A nucleotomy is a spinal surgery designed to treat herniated discs. In this procedure, some of the disc tissue is removed to relieve the pressure on the surrounding tissues with the goal being to relieve the patient's pain and radicular symptoms. However, the failure rate for this procedure is high. Patients are likely to have recurring pain or pain that never stopped after the procedure.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is an incurable, chronic condition in which the nervous system sends painful signals that cause burning sensations, swelling, stiffness, and altered appearance of the affected area. This condition often occurs after an injury. The exact cause is not known, but there are several treatments that can bring relief.
As creatures of habit, we tend to perform the same tasks in the same way, over and over again. Often these tasks are related to work or sport. Some repetitive tasks may include lifting or other behaviors that place a lot of stress on our bodies. Although performing such a motion one time may not cause an injury, performing the same motion repeatedly day after day can lead to minor inflammation. Because of the repetition of the stressful action, this minor irritation never has the opportunity to heal. In the long run, this accumulation of stress can cause a painful injury.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a condition that causes the immune system to attack a person's joints, leading to pain, swelling, and stiffness. Unlike other types of arthritis, RA affects joints bilaterally and can affect other parts of the body such as the skin, lungs, or heart. Although women are more likely to have RA, men also can be affected. In total, approximately one percent of the population suffers from this condition.
In a patient with RA, an unknown event triggers the immune system to move immune cells into the tissues of the joints, creating inflammation that causes painful symptoms and eventually wears away cartilage that cushions the neighboring bones. In this way, untreated RA can lead to deterioration of a patient's condition as the cartilage and bones become increasingly damaged. Early treatment is critical to slowing or even stopping this progression.
Patients suffering from sciatica experience severe pain that travels along the large sciatic nerve. This vital nerve runs from the lower back down the legs, all the way to the foot. Accordingly, patients often describe the pain as shooting from the lower back down one or both legs. Although sciatica is highly uncomfortable, Flint Hills Pain Management offers several treatment options to help you find relief.
Shingles pain, also known as postherpetic neuralgia, is a complication of shingles, which is an infection of the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles generally affect older adults and can emerge at any time. Shingles itself is characterized by a painful, blistery rash that usually resolves after a few weeks. In some instances, this stage of the virus is then followed by severe, shooting pain that lasts even after the rash has disappeared. This continued pain is called postherpetic neuralgia and can last up to several years.
Pain that shoots from your low back to the hip, buttock, or leg is a sign of injury that needs to be addressed by a physician. These symptoms may indicate a problem in the back that is placing pressure on the major nerves. To resolve the pain, the underlying condition will need to be addressed.
The shoulder is a complex system of bones, nerves, and soft tissues that come together to form one of the major joints in your body. Injury or overuse can cause inflammation that can in turn irritate the other components of the joint. In this way, a minor shoulder injury can feel like a major problem, with intense pain and debilitating stiffness.
When pain or stiffness in the neck strikes, it can feel like you can't do anything. Often it isn't until we suffer a neck injury that we become fully aware of all the small movements we make using our neck throughout the day. Neck stiffness can be caused by any number of injuries or medical conditions. These symptoms should always be evaluated by a physician, both to rule out a serious illness as well as to ensure your prompt recovery.
A small but significant percentage of adults have spinal abnormalities that appear on MRI or x-ray, such as a sixth lumbar vertebrae or an extra sacral bone. These abnormalities do not cause any trouble and are not the source of painful symptoms. It is possible, however, for an extra bone structure to attach to another bone, causing a joint of sorts that can result in low back pain.
Interventional pain management is especially suited to treating this type of low back pain.
Spinal stenosis is the result of the spine becoming narrower and putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerves in the back. Many patients suffering from spinal stenosis experience pain that travels along the nerves into the back of the leg. Although traumatic injury can cause this problem, it is more commonly the result of deterioration over time.
Sports activity sometimes causes our body to move in unnatural ways to extremes of range of motion. This can cause injuries and pain. If you experience pain for more than four weeks, we urge you to see a specialist. Early determination of the cause of pain can help lead to a fast recovery.
Physicians usually describe a joint as being stiff when the patient is not physically capable of moving the joint as much as would be considered normal. A joint may also be considered stiff by patients when the joint is painful or uncomfortable to move.
Subluxation refers to any abnormal alignment of the joints of the spine. When the spine is not aligned properly, the wear-and-tear on vertebrae and discs can lead to many painful conditions. Chiropractic treatments to adjust the spine are a common way to correct this problem and relieve associated back pain. Any back pain lasting longer than a few weeks should be discussed with a doctor to determine the exact source of the problem and devise an appropriate treatment plan.
Tingling is a common symptom that reveals a nerve condition usually related to a misalignment of the spine. The location and severity of your symptoms can tell your doctor a lot about the nature of your condition. With our interdisciplinary approach, common causes of tingling can be successfully treated and completely cured in a very short period, all while avoiding heavy medication or surgery.
Patients suffering from trigeminal neuralgia experience sharp pains to one side of the face during intermittent attacks. This condition most frequently afflicts patients who are middle aged or older, especially women and those suffering from multiple sclerosis. During a period of frequent attacks, many patients suffering from this condition find that they are afraid to move their mouth at all lest they trigger a painful episode.
The upper back refers to the neck and the topmost portion of your back and includes the cervical spine. This area is required to move in an unlimited combination of motions, all while supporting the weight of your head. Any number of the components that make up the upper back, including muscles, nerves, vertebrae, and discs, can easily become injured in an accident or as the result of overuse or inappropriate use. Because the upper back and neck are such complicated areas of the body, a specialist should be consulted to determine the source of your pain.
Vertebral body fractures are most often due to osteoporosis, so treating that underlying condition is important to reduce the chance of suffering another fracture. Typical symptoms of a vertebral fracture include sudden onset of back pain while performing normal daily activity, a hunched back, and loss of height.
We use our hands and arms all day, performing numerous large and subtle movements as we go about our work and play. For us to do so comfortably, a complex network of bone, nerves, and soft tissues must all work together seamlessly. When one or more parts of this network become injured due to injury, misuse, or overuse, the result can include pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, and stiffness. Any of these symptoms should be evaluated by a physician, especially if they are severe or persistent.
Flint Hills Pain Management | 1404 Beechwood Ter. Suite C | Manhattan, Ks 66502 | 785-320-7576 | office@flinthillspm.com
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