Interventional Pain Management

Pain is a complex condition that requires a multidisciplinary approach to care. The Ochsner Health 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 Health interventional pain management team are well-versed in treating general and chronic pain lasting three months or more. Several of the Ochsner Health 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, the Ochsner Health team works closely with other specialists and programs throughout the Ochsner Health system, including:

• Neurology
• Neurosurgery
• Oncology
• Orthopedics
• Primary care
• Rheumatology

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. The Ochsner Health pain management team provides a wide range of science-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

The primary focus of the Ochsner Health team is managing persistent pain, while also providing care for short-term pain that may develop into a longer-lasting condition.

The Ochsner Health pain management team also treats:

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

Your Ochsner Health 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 Ochsner Health doctor may also recommend:

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

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

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 Ochsner Health 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 treated at Ochsner Health 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.

Sciatica is pain that affects the back, hip and outer side of the leg caused by compression of a spinal nerve root in the lower back. It most commonly occurs when a herniated disk, bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine compresses part of the nerve. It can cause inflammation and often numbness in the affected leg. Alternating heat and ice therapy can provide immediate relief of sciatic nerve pain.

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis causes cartilage to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints. Infections or underlying diseases, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.