According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 20% of U.S. adults live with chronic pain. Whether it’s the result of an injury or a medical condition, those suffering from chronic pain often experience limited mobility, additional health problems and mental health issues.
Samuel Korbe, M.D., is a pain medicine physician with Warren Clinic Pain Management in Tulsa. He specializes in the diagnosis, care and treatment of pain-related conditions and explains some of the impacts of chronic pain.
“If you break your arm, it’s very painful at first, but then your body begins to heal itself,” says Kobe. “Within a week it’s going to hurt less, and then in four to six weeks, your cast comes off and your arm is back to normal.”
Chronic pain, however, operates differently.
“With chronic pain, there has been an injury of some kind, but the pain remains and can be daily and unrelenting,” he explains. “People who experience pain in this way can feel hopeless, like there’s no end in sight, and it can affect their mental health and cause additional health effects.”
Korbe shares that many patients may also be dealing with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as those who have had near-death experiences from a car accident or other injury event.
“Trauma, PTSD and psychological stress can compound chronic pain,” he says. “It’s important for patients to have a strong support system of family and friends to help them cope with both the physical and mental aspects of managing chronic pain.”
In the past, pain management often involved the use of opioids. However, after the opioid crisis revealed the devastating consequences of overuse, there have been significant changes in regulations as well as treatment plans.
“Opioids were previously over-emphasized with tragic results,” Korbe says. “While opioids can be extremely beneficial in certain situations, in the long run, they’re going to make things worse. We want people to live the healthiest and happiest lives they can, so we use as many different medical options as we can and try to minimize any opioid exposure as much as possible.”
Within Warren Clinic’s interventional pain clinic, treatment plans can include steroid injections, spinal cord stimulation, kyphoplasty, nerve blocks and ablations, where specialized heated needles help desensitize targeted nerves to provide more long-term pain relief.
Korbe also emphasizes the importance of exercise and physical therapy, noting that for anyone worried about their current pain or developing chronic pain, exercise is the number one preventive measure.
“As humans, we are made to be able to walk, to run, to carry things, to lift things and put them up over our head,” he says. “If we stop doing them, then it’s going to become harder and harder to do those in the future. How you live your life, your diet, your exercise, your lifestyle is one of the greatest factors within your control to try and avoid living with chronic pain.”
