Pain Management

What is pain management?

Pain management is a branch of medicine that focuses on treating acute and chronic pain. Acute pain is defined as lasting for less than six months. Most patients experience acute pain from an injury. As long as you heal properly, your pain should subside over time.

If your body doesn’t recover as it should, it can stop functioning properly. This can lead to chronic pain, which lasts for longer than six months. 

Many patients develop chronic pain that lingers for months — even years — after an injury has healed. In other cases, a degenerative condition, such as arthritis, triggers chronic pain.

At Restorative Health, Dr. Safayan embraces nonsurgical pain treatments that don’t rely on addictive medications, such as opioids. These innovative treatments deliver long-lasting relief from pain, so you can reach your full physical potential.

What can pain management treat?

If pain is preventing you from living your full potential, pain management techniques at Restorative Health can deliver lasting relief from:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Neck and back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Hip pain
• Knee pain
• Headaches and migraines
• Postsurgical pain
• Nerve damage
• Herniated disc
• Sciatica
• Torn muscle
• Fibromyalgia
• Joint pain
  
  

Pain management at Restorative Health involves repairing form which restores function thus decreasing pain and improving mobility. focuses on reducing pain to restore function and mobility.

By relieving your pain, Dr. Safayan can provide you with the tools you need to recover without surgery. If you rely on over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers or opioid medications to function, pain management may be right for you. 

What types of pain management treatments are available?

Restorative Health offers several pain management treatments at their office, such as:

Regenerative orthopedic medicine

Regenerative orthopedic medicine uses substances found in nature and in your own body to repair damaged tissue by triggering your natural healing response. 

Since 2000, Dr. Safayan has practiced prolotherapy, a type of regenerative medicine using natural dextrose (sugar water) or some cases one’s own blood, platelet-rich plasma parentheses (PRP) to stimulate regeneration of damaged tissues such as joint tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

A lifelong educator, Dr. Safayan has been a faculty member since 2010 with the Hackett Hemwall Patterson Foundation (HHPF), one of the premier prolotherapy training organizations in the world, and more recently since 2021 with the International Association of Regenerative Therapy (IART).

Prolotherapy is a nonsurgical treatment for neck and back pain, as well as pain and other joints such as fingers, elbows, shoulders, feet, ankles, knees, and hips.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a component of traditional Chinese medicine that involves inserting hair-thin needles into specific points along energy channels called meridians. Acupuncture can stimulate the nervous system to relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety without medication.

Intramuscular therapy

Intramuscular therapy or dry needling is a form of acupuncture that focuses on deactivating trigger points found in the myofascia, muscles, and connective tissue to relieve pain. Intramuscular therapy is provided by Scott Juzwak, PT, DPT, OCS, CFMT. Dr. Safayan can provide a referral.

Myofascial massage therapy

In recent years it has become clear that fascia envelops all of the structures of our body and can become damaged, leading to chronic pain. Myofascial therapy such as Rolfing or Structural Integration can improve the fascial function and decrease or eliminate pain. Myofascial therapy is provided by Olivier Pelletier, LMT. Dr. Safayan can provide a referral.

To schedule an appointment with Restorative Health, call the office or book online today.