Breaking the cycle of pain
"Whether someone is suffering from excruciating back pain, the agony of chronic headaches or the intractable pain of cancer, it can affect every layer of a person's being. My job is to help alleviate pain, even if I cannot change the course of an illness," explains
Robert Friedman, MD, Virtua diagnostic specialist in pain medicine.
Wired for sensation
Tailored treatment for specific pain
One woman's story
Advanced intervention
Wired for sensation
Humans are wired for sensation — to feel both pleasure and pain. Pain is a primitive, protective signal informing us that something is injuring our bodies. It could be an infection, an open wound, a tumor, or simply that we have touched an object which is too hot, too cold or too sharp.
"The sensation of pain occurs because of highly specialized pain receptors called nociceptors," says Rakesh Gupta, MD, Virtua pain specialist. "They are found by the millions in our skin, muscles, bones and organ coverings. Each nociceptor is programmed to respond only to specific stimuli, so some react only to heat, others only to cold, still others to pressure and so on."
For example: When nociceptors in our hand react to the scalding handle of a pan, an electrochemical message is generated and sent via our nervous system to the spinal cord. The spinal cord then transmits the "hot" message to the brain, which interprets the message (ouch!) and sends back another electrochemical signal making us pull our hand away from the painful object.
Tailored treatment for specific pain
Given the body's complex response to painful stimuli, it's no surpise that different types of pain require different treatment approaches. For instance, "Back pain is common problem, but one that still needs a precise diagnosis before we can treat it, " explains Kenneth Rogers, DO, Virtua pain medicine specialist. "Once the precise diagnosis is established, an injection can be given directly into the problem area. This should stop the pain signal being generated from the source of pain as it travels to the brain."
One woman's story
Surprisingly, viral illnesses can also cause body pain. Angelina DelVecchio, a patient of Dr. Friedman's describes her bout with shingles: "It caused such horrible burning pain on my abdomen that I stopped eating. On a scale of one to 10, my pain was a 10." Dr. Friedman treated DelVecchio with pulsed radio frequency, a procedure that interrupts pain signals through low-level electronically pulsed currents. DelVechicco says: "My pain has just about disappeared. I feel as though I've gotten my life back."
According to Stephen Boyajian, DO, Virtua pain medicine specialist,
"Chronic pain can have a debilitating effect both physically and psychologically. Often, people in chronic pain suffer from depression, which we are also able to successfully treat."
Advanced intervention
Life-altering pain from cancer, surgery or an automobile accident may require
advanced interventional techniques. Syed Ahsan, MD, Virtua pain specialist explains: "Sometimes, when pain has gone on for too long or is too severe, pain-relieving remedies such as intrathecal pain management may be appropriate. Here, a small device is implanted near the spinal column, and medication is released directly into the spinal fluid."
Virtua offers a multidisciplinary program for pain management that includes physician specialists from a variety of disciplines, including psychiatry and allied health professionals like massage therapists and occupational therapists.
To make an appointment with a Virtua pain specialist, call 1-888-Virtua-3.