For decades, pain treatment has often meant one thing: take a painkiller. A headache brings a tablet, back pain another, and persistent knee pain may lead to repeated medication. But chronic pain is rarely that simple.Pain involves an interaction between nerves, muscles, joints, the spinal cord and the brain. When it persists for months or years, simply suppressing it may not be enough. Modern pain medicine is therefore shifting from painkillers to precision.Understanding the source of pain: The first question is not always which medicine to prescribe, but where the pain is coming from.Back pain can originate from discs, facet joints, sacroiliac joints, nerves or muscles. Knee pain may arise from the joint, surrounding tissues or the nerves carrying pain signals. Two patients can have similar MRI findings but entirely different sources of pain.

Modern pain specialists combine clinical examination, imaging and, when appropriate, diagnostic procedures to identify the structures responsible.From “one treatment fits all” to targeted treatment: Once the pain source is identified,treatment can become more precise.

Image-guided procedures allow medication to be delivered close to a specific nerve or pain-generating structure. Ultrasound and fluoroscopy improve accuracy and safety. In selected patients, targeted procedures may both relieve pain and help confirm its source.The principle is simple: treat the relevant pain pathway rather........

© Greater Kashmir