Interventional Pain Management

Pain is a natural response to illness or injury. However, frequent, severe or chronic pain can prevent you from fully enjoying or living your best life. Our pain management team provides a wide range of evidence-based treatments to relieve several types of pain, including:

• Breakthrough pain — pain that is more severe than your normal chronic pain and not controlled with your normal medications

• Chronic pain — pain lasting for several months or longer

• Pathologic pain — pain that is more severe than usual based on the illness or injury causing the pain

Our primary focus is managing persistent pain, while also providing care for short-term pain that may develop into a longer-lasting condition.

• Arthritis

• Cancer-related pain

• Chronic headaches and migraines

• Complex regional pain syndrome, also known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome

• Degenerative disk disease

• Diabetic neuropathy

• Facial pain

• Failed back surgery syndrome

• Fibromyalgia

• General neuropathy

• Herniated disks

• Injuries of the muscles, tendons or other soft tissues

• Joint pain, including shoulder, knee, hip, etc.

• Low back pain or injuries

• Neck pain or injuries

• Post-herpetic neuralgia and shingles

• Post-laminectomy syndrome

• Sciatica

• Spinal facet syndrome

• Spinal stenosis

• Sports-related injuries

• Trigeminal neuralgia

• Vertebral compression fractures

• Vertebrogenic back pain

Ochsner interventional pain management offers leading-edge, innovative treatment options to safely and effectively reduce pain and improve quality of life. We take a holistic approach to pain management that includes conservative therapies, minimally invasive interventional procedures and medication management. We offer open MRIs, electromyograms and image-guided injections.

Your care team will work with you to identify the treatment options best suited for your type of pain, overall health and lifestyle. Available treatments include:

• Celiac plexus nerve neurolysis

• Cervical transforaminal injections

• Dorsal root ganglion stimulation

• Epidural steroid injections

• Facet joint injections

• Ganglion impar block

• Genicular nerve block

• Hip joint injections

• Intercostal nerve block

• Intrathecal pump treatment

• Ketamine infusions

• Knee joint injections

• Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty

• Lumbar sympathetic block

• Lumbar transforaminal injections

• Medial branch block

• Occipital nerve block

• Peripheral nerve stimulation

• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

• Pudendal nerve block

• Sacroiliac joint injections

• Sphenopalatine ganglion block

• Spinal cord stimulator

• Stellate ganglion block

• Trigeminal nerve block

• Trigeminal nerve radiofrequency ablation

• Trigger point injections

Based on your condition and needs, your doctor may also recommend:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy or another behavioral health approach to pain management

• Occupational therapy

• Physical therapy

Additionally, the Ochsner back and spine center provides highly specialized care for those with back and spine-related pain. For patients who need more structured treatment, our innovative functional restoration program offers additional care options with a holistic, multidisciplinary approach.

Pain is a complex condition that requires a multidisciplinary approach to care. Our team includes:

• Board-certified physicians, including radiologists and surgeons

• Nurse practitioners

• Occupational therapists

• Physical therapists

• Physician assistants

• Social workers

All members of the expert Ochsner interventional pain management team are well-versed in treating general and chronic pain lasting three months or more. Several of our board-certified physicians also have extensive training in specialty areas, including:

• Anesthesiology

• Cancer-related pain management

• Emergency medicine

• Headache management

• Interventional pain management

• Neuromodulation

• Peripheral nerve stimulation

• Physical medicine and rehabilitation

• Sports medicine

Additionally, to help you get the treatment you need while improving continuity of care, we work closely with other specialists and programs throughout the Ochsner system, including:

• Neurology

• Neurosurgery

• Oncology

• Orthopedics

• Primary care

• Rheumatology

All Ochsner interventional pain management physicians are board-certified pain management specialists. Our doctors are nationally and internationally recognized as leaders who actively contribute to the field of pain management through research, speaking, teaching and writing.

The Ochsner team was the first in Louisiana and one of few in the country to perform the Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) implant. This stimulation was created to treat pain associated with regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Unlike similar devices, DRG stimulation can target specific areas of the body where pain occurs. We also were the first in New Orleans to offer Cooled Radio Frequency Ablation, a non-invasive, outpatient treatment option that allows doctors to treat a larger area than conventional radio frequency treatments.

Research is an essential part of the Ochsner interventional pain management program. Our team is active in research and clinical trials, which allows us to bring you cutting-edge, evidence-based treatments before they are widely available. Active and recent clinical research areas include:

• Knee pain after joint replacement
• Knee pain from osteoarthritis
• Neurostimulation for painful diabetic neuropathy
• The effect of Virtual reality treatment for chronic pain on quality of life

For more information about participating in research or clinical trials, contact Latrell Johnson at latjohnson@ochsner.org or 504-842-6052.

In addition to providing comprehensive, high-quality pain management care, the Ochsner interventional pain management team is passionate about training the next generation of pain management experts. Our one-year, multidisciplinary fellowship program provides training in several aspects of pain management care and encourages participation in ongoing research.

You can make an appointment with Ochsner interventional pain management by:

• Asking your primary care physician or another Ochsner specialist for a referral

• Calling 866-624-7637

• Through MyOchsner

If your primary care physician or another Ochsner specialist believes you would benefit from a specific pain management procedure, they can also provide you with a direct-to-procedure order. This order allows you to schedule your pain management procedure without an initial new patient pain management appointment.

The goal of interventional pain management is to address the cause of pain, not just the symptom. While opiates have short-term pain-relieving effects, they lack long-term benefits and come with several possible side effects and risk factors. However, a low dose of opiates given for a short period may be used in combination with additional pain management treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, occupational or physical therapy, or nerve stimulation.

Depending on the type of pain you’re experiencing, your care team may recommend non-opioid pain medicine to relieve chronic pain, such as antiepileptic medications, local anesthetics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or steroid injections.

Some of the most common types of pain include joint pain, post-surgical pain and pain caused by chronic illness. The Ochsner interventional pain management team provides expert, comprehensive treatment for several common painful conditions and types of pain, including:

• Inflammatory pain caused by autoimmune disorders or infections

• Mechanical pain due to poor alignment or movement issues

• Musculoskeletal pain, or pain related to bones, muscles and soft tissues

• Neuropathic pain caused by nerve issues

• Psychogenic pain due to behavioral, emotional or psychological concerns

Your initial pain management appointment will happen in the doctor’s office. However, virtual visits may be an option for follow-up appointments depending on your condition and care needs.