KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — If you think chronic pain isn’t something worth worrying about, think again. Chronic pain can manifest as pain in the neck, back, head, joints and muscles.
“I can’t walk on a treadmill or walk up stairs. My house has two floors,” Robin Chahoroski said. “I’ve always been active with my kids, and all of a sudden I can’t do that anymore.”
Czahoroski had suffered chronic pain for years after a fall following knee replacement surgery in 2016.
“you Opioids“… I’m not always clear-minded,” Czahorowski said.
According to the National Pain Foundation, 50 million American adults, or about 20% of the population, live with chronic pain. Additionally, chronic pain is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States, and at least 10% of suicides are people with chronic pain. Nationwide, approximately $635 billion is spent annually on chronic pain.
“The pain usually lasts for three to six months,” says Dr. James Chew of Pain Consultants of East Tennessee.
Chu has been treating chronic pain and its various symptoms for almost 20 years, and he told 6 News that while there is no cure, recent advances are making a big impact.
“When we first started treating pain 17 years ago, we were basically putting little bandaids on specific pain symptoms — steroid injections and sometimes medications. But in the last few years, a lot of the research that’s been going on for 15 years is finally coming to the fore,” Chu said.
One such procedure involves the use of thin wires, a receiver, and a generator, commonly known as a peripheral nerve stimulator.
“Basically the wires are saying, ‘Hey nerves, stop working. Stop sending pain signals,'” Chu said. “The procedure takes about 25 minutes. We put three little staples into the incision so that she can be fitted with a generator over the receiver.”
The surgery allows patients like Chahoroski to do things they couldn’t do because of chronic pain.
“I can do Dollywood, I can do the treadmill, I can walk up the stairs just fine,” Czahorowski said. “I have no pain whatsoever.”
This is good news not only for people like Czahorowski who have endured long-term pain, but also progress on other fronts.
“We’re seeing a big change in how doctors prescribe,” Chu said, “and in general they’re reluctant and really unwilling to not write prescriptions. Opioids “We no longer have so many tools that are more effective at treating these painful conditions than standard steroid injections and opioids, so it’s really exciting to see these new procedures being performed quickly and often minimally invasively.”
Coverage remains a challenge, but for older patients who often suffer from chronic pain, the good news is that Medicare is now more open to covering these new types of procedures.
