Pain Medicine

The Department of Pain Medicine at the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University is guided by modern pain medicine theory and grounded in physiology and anatomy, neuropathology, and diagnostic imaging. It uses a new model of comprehensive analysis, assessment, and treatment, and has established a diagnostic and treatment system based on diagnosis, characterized by injection therapy, and centered on minimally invasive interventional surgery. This has enabled effective treatment of many difficult pain problems previously encountered in clinical medicine, as well as diseases that previously required surgical treatment. Pain is the fifth vital sign, after blood pressure, body temperature, respiration, and pulse. “Freedom from pain is a basic right of patients.” “Pain is a disease.” We believe that, with specialized diagnostic and treatment services provided by pain specialists, life can contain less pain and more happiness.

(1) Scope of diagnosis and treatment in the pain clinic 1. Head and facial pain Migraine, tension-type headache, cluster headache, cervicogenic headache, trigeminal neuralgia, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, atypical facial pain, temporomandibular joint arthritis, etc. 2. Neck, shoulder, lower-back, and leg pain All types of cervical spondylosis, periarthritis of the shoulder, cervical and lumbar disc herniation, acute lumbar sprain, third lumbar transverse process syndrome, etc. 3. Various acute and chronic traumatic pain conditions of the soft tissues Myofascial syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, soft-tissue injury, etc. 4. Tendon and bursal diseases Tendon-sheath cyst, tenosynovitis, bursitis, tennis elbow, trigger finger, etc. 5. Degenerative diseases of the spine and joints Pain caused by degenerative changes of the spine, primary osteoporosis, and various forms of osteoarthritis, including periarthritis of the shoulder, knee arthritis, hip arthritis, sacroiliac joint arthritis, etc. 6. Neuropathic pain Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia, phantom-limb pain, residual-limb pain, diabetic neuritis, etc. 7. Peripheral vascular and autonomic nervous system diseases Raynaud disease, thromboangiitis obliterans, sympathetically mediated pain, complex regional pain syndrome, etc. 8. Various types of cancer pain Cancer pain at any stage can be treated, including both outpatient and inpatient treatment. 9. Complex generalized pain Central pain, indeterminate-complaint syndrome. 10. Immune- and metabolism-related painful diseases Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, gout, etc. 11. Non-painful diseases Intractable hiccups (singultus), acute facial neuritis (facial paralysis), facial muscle spasm, sudden deafness and tinnitus, autonomic dysfunction, etc.

(2) Scope of minimally invasive interventional treatment 1. Cervical and lumbar disc herniation: Under image guidance, cervical and lumbar disc radiofrequency treatment, ozone minimally invasive interventional nerve analgesia, or chemonucleolysis is performed. The therapeutic effect has been widely recognized, with even better long-term results. 2. Trigeminal neuralgia: Temperature-controlled radiofrequency coagulation is used under image guidance to lesion the trigeminal semilunar (Gasserian) ganglion, providing effective control of intractable trigeminal neuralgia. 3. Severe pain in advanced cancer: For cancer pain that is not adequately controlled by conventional medication, image-guided neuroablative treatment can effectively control the pain. 4. Herpes zoster pain and postherpetic neuralgia: Continuous nerve block combined with antiviral treatment can effectively control the severe pain of herpes zoster and reduce the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia. Image-guided neuroablative treatment is used to effectively control postherpetic neuralgia. 5. Sympathetically related diseases such as vasculitis and Raynaud disease: Image-guided sympathetic nerve block or neurolysis is used to control or improve pain. 6. Morphine pump implantation and spinal cord stimulation therapy.

(3) Specialized treatment techniques of the Department of Pain Medicine 1. Various injection therapies: Suitable for various soft-tissue diseases and neuropathic pain conditions. 2. Injection into the lateral recess of the spinal canal: Suitable for lumbar disc herniation. Therapeutic medication is injected directly near the herniated disc so that its therapeutic effects—immunomodulation, reduction of edema, nerve nourishment, and interruption of the vicious cycle of pain—can be fully utilized. It provides good efficacy and rapid relief. 3. Paravertebral injection therapy: Medication is injected directly near the dorsal root ganglion of the spinal nerve to exert its therapeutic effect. It is suitable for cervical spondylosis, various spinal-origin pain conditions, herpetic neuralgia, and cancer analgesia. 4. Sympathetic ganglion injection: Stellate ganglion block is suitable for intractable hiccups (singultus), acute facial neuritis (facial paralysis), facial muscle spasm, sudden deafness, tinnitus, Raynaud disease, thromboangiitis obliterans, sympathetically mediated pain, complex regional pain syndrome, etc. 5. Ozone therapy device: Ozone has strong oxidizing, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects. It is used for various intra-articular injections and combined with radiofrequency treatment for cervical and lumbar disc herniation. Ozone has a broad range of indications; it may also be used in patients with contraindications to hormone therapy, such as those with hypertension or diabetes, and has no complications or adverse reactions. 6. Minimally invasive interventional surgery: Under image guidance, cervical and lumbar disc radiofrequency treatment, ozone minimally invasive interventional nerve analgesia, or chemonucleolysis is used to treat cervical and lumbar disc herniation. Temperature-controlled radiofrequency coagulation is used under image guidance to lesion the trigeminal semilunar ganglion, effectively controlling intractable trigeminal neuralgia.

Clinic hours: Monday and Thursday mornings; all day Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.