Pain Management: Spinal Drug Delivery Systems
Pain relief through spinal drug delivery systems, also called intrathecal drug delivery systems, involves implanting a small pump that delivers medication directly to the spinal cord, where pain signals travel.
In many cases, spinal drug delivery systems are used to treat people who have cancer pain or chronic pain.
Take the Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Chronic Pain?
No doubt about it -- plenty of us are suffering from chronic pain. More than 50 million Americans have some form of this malady, according to the American Academy of Pain Medicine. But having lots of company doesn’t make it any easier to bear. Chronic pain wears people down, causes fatigue and insomnia, and results in missed work and social isolation. What can you do if chronic pain is interfering with your life? Start by learning what you know -- and maybe don’t know -- about it with this...
Read the Take the Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Chronic Pain? article > >
What Are the Advantages of Spinal Drug Delivery Systems?
Spinal drug delivery systems increase pain relief and comfort for people with severe pain with less medicine. In addition, the system can cause fewer side effects than oral medications because less medicine is required to control pain. People who have extreme pain can improve their quality of life and become more involved in daily activities with the help of the systems.
Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic Westlake Family Health Center.
WebMD Medical Reference provided in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic
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