Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
Over 116 million people suffer from chronic pain disorders ranging from fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, neuropathy, back, hip and neck pain. Whether trauma or degenerative diseases have caused your pain, the consensus is usually the same; people want their pain to decrease so they can improve their quality of life.
Arthritis is One of the Most Common Causes of Pain
Arthritis is a degenerative disorder that causes inflammation in the joints. Some of the common arthritic symptoms are joint stiffness, warmth, immobilization, loss of range of motion, fatigue, inadequate blood flow and a great deal of pain. One of the main types of arthritis is osteoarthritis (OA). With osteoarthritis, wear and tear damages the cartilage in the joints and causes friction between the bones rubbing together. Nearly 20 million people in the US suffer from arthritis and its painful symptoms every day of their lives.
Osteoarthritis develops slowly, and the pain becomes worse with time. This type of arthritis is also known as degenerative because it is often associated with the aging process. Unfortunately, it can also affect younger people too. The pain can be debilitating and interfere with daily activities, affect your ability to work and decrease your quality of life.
When arthritis affects the neck, back, hands, feet or hips, people have difficulty trying to perform daily tasks. The surrounding muscles begin to tighten as they try to overcompensate for the pain and protect the injured area. These tight muscles can ache and cause impaired range of motion. Most people may find that there is little to no relief with over the counter medications like ibuprofen.
How Can I Avoid Joint Replacement Surgery?
Joint replacement surgery is a good option for patients with arthritis, however not everyone is a surgical candidate and/or some people desire to avoid or postpone surgery. There are effective ways to delay having surgery using the latest technologies available in the world of neuromodulation. One of those treatment methods is known as Peripheral Nerve Stimulation.
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS)
Peripheral nerve stimulation has been around since the 1960s for treating chronic pain. PNS is now used for several indications such as complex regional pain syndrome, occipital pain, back pain, peripheral nerve disorders, and many more conditions.
It’s similar to spinal cord stimulation, except that it works with the peripheral border nerves as opposed to the spine or brain. The treatment is first performed externally to see if the patient’s pain can be controlled and alleviated with the device. If it successfully reduces pain, a small device gets implanted, and one or more small electrodes deliver rapid electrical impulses to the peripheral nerves. This stimulation reduces pain significantly. The patient will be in total control of the device by having the ability to turn it on or off and adjust the stimulation strength depending on their level of pain. The device can easily be removed if the patient prefers another treatment option in the future.
George Soliman, M.D.
Dr. Soliman is Board Certified in Anesthesiology and Interventional Pain Management. He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain utilizing both minimally invasive surgical and non-surgical treatments for painful conditions of the neck, back, arms, legs and major joints. In addition, Dr. Soliman has experience with difficult to diagnose pain disorders and a wide variety of chronic and acute pain conditions.
Dr. Soliman was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and completed his undergraduate training at The Ohio State University and Medical education at the American University of the Caribbean. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Genetics.
Upon finishing medical school, Dr. Soliman completed his Anesthesiology Residency at The Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He completed his training with distinction and multiple conference presentations and publications. He worked with some of the pre-eminent physicians in the field of Anesthesia and Pain Management, and then pursued an Interventional Pain Management Fellowship at The Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.
His professional skills include spinal injection procedures consisting of epidural steroid injections, radiofrequency ablation, discography, vertebro-
plasty/kyphoplasty, spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG), peripheral nerve stimulation, minimally invasive disc decompression and spinal stenosis decompression, diagnostic injections, trigger points and comprehensive multimodal pain management. He is trained in the latest techniques in fluoroscopy and ultrasound guided pain procedures and performs the latest techniques in the field including peripheral nerve stimulation and dorsal root ganglion stimulation.
To schedule your appointment, please call (239) 482-2663
Orthopedic Center of Florida
239-482-2663 | www.ocfla.net
12670 Creekside Lane, Fort Myers, FL 33919
