Chronic pain can affect movement, sleep, work, mood, and everyday quality of life. Pacific Pain & Wellness Group evaluates chronic pain with a treatment plan that may include interventional procedures, medication management, non-surgical options, and coordinated support for the emotional strain that often comes with long-term pain.
This resource hub helps patients understand how chronic pain care is organized at PPWG and points to the most relevant treatment pages.
What is chronic pain?
Chronic pain is pain that persists beyond the expected healing period or continues for months or years because of an underlying condition, nerve irritation, joint problem, prior injury, surgery, or another medical cause. Some patients have a clear diagnosis, while others need a careful evaluation to identify the likely pain generator.
Common chronic pain patterns include back pain, neck pain, joint pain, nerve pain, migraine pain, complex regional pain syndrome, post-surgical pain, and pain that limits normal activity. The right treatment depends on the diagnosis, prior treatment history, imaging or diagnostic findings, medications, and the patient's goals.
Start with a chronic pain evaluation
PPWG's chronic pain management page explains how the clinic approaches long-term pain care. A clinical evaluation may review the location and character of the pain, how long symptoms have been present, what makes symptoms better or worse, prior injections or procedures, medication history, physical function, and safety considerations.
The goal is not simply to label the pain. The goal is to build a care plan that improves function, reduces avoidable risk, and helps patients understand which options are appropriate for their condition.
Interventional pain treatment options
Many chronic pain plans include interventional pain treatments when conservative care has not provided enough relief or when diagnostic information is needed. Related PPWG treatment pages include:
- Epidural injections for selected spine-related pain patterns.
- Facet joint injections for selected joint-related spine pain.
- Diagnostic and therapeutic nerve blocks to help identify or treat certain pain sources.
- Radiofrequency ablation for selected pain that responds to diagnostic blocks.
- Spinal cord stimulation for selected chronic pain conditions after evaluation.
Medication management and non-surgical care
Medication decisions for chronic pain should be individualized and monitored. PPWG offers pain medication management as part of a broader plan that may also include procedures, lifestyle changes, home exercise, referrals, or other non-surgical strategies. The safest plan depends on the patient's diagnosis, other medications, medical history, and treatment response.
For some patients, nutrition, inflammation, sleep, and stress can influence pain intensity and coping. Read more about the connection between diet, mood, and pain in How Your Diet Impacts Chronic Pain, Mood, and Depression.
Ketamine and chronic pain
For carefully selected patients, ketamine infusions for chronic pain may be discussed as part of a physician-guided plan. Ketamine is FDA-approved as an anesthetic medication. Its use for chronic pain is off-label and should be reviewed with the clinical team, including potential benefits, risks, monitoring, eligibility, and coverage questions.
The broader ketamine topic is explained in the ketamine infusions resource hub, including how PPWG separates pain-related and mental-health-related ketamine care.
Mental health and chronic pain
Long-term pain can affect mood, sleep, stress, relationships, and daily functioning. Some patients benefit from coordinated care that considers both pain management and mental health. PPWG's mental health services may be relevant when depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, or medication concerns are part of the clinical picture.
When to request an appointment
Patients should consider a pain management evaluation when pain persists, interferes with daily life, limits mobility, disrupts sleep, or has not improved with initial treatment. A clinician can help determine whether the next step should be diagnostic workup, medication review, interventional treatment, ketamine discussion, or another care path.
Request an appointment to discuss chronic pain treatment options with Pacific Pain & Wellness Group.