Pain Management - Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health

Expert Care for Chronic Pain

Personalized assessment, treatment and monitoring.

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Millions of Americans suffer from pain, with back pain and neck pain being among the most common. The goal of our pain management team is to work with you to understand and effectively treat your pain and improve your quality of life.

Led by board-certified physicians with specific training and expertise in pain management, our program offers care for patients experiencing persistent pain as a result of aging, injury, illness or surgery. We assess your unique needs, coordinate a comprehensive treatment plan, and continuously monitor your progress. Our program is designed to treat pain without surgery or opioid medications. If surgery is needed, we work closely with the appropriate surgeon.

Common Pain Conditions

Spine pain and orthopedic joint pain:

Back pain
Hip, knee, and shoulder joint pain
Neck pain
Sacroiliac joint pain
Radicular pain

Nerve-related pain:

Carpal tunnel syndrome
Complex regional pain syndrome
Cubital tunnel syndrome
Facet joint arthritis
Fibromyalgia
Facet joint arthritis
Diabetic nerve pain
Peripheral neuropathy
Radial nerve palsy
Sciatica pain
Tarsal tunnel syndrome

Pain Management Treatment Options

Our physicians, board-certified in anesthesiology or pain management, and our skilled staff offer the latest and most effective pain management solutions available, including:

Epidural steroid injection—to treat nerve root irritation or inflammation, caused by degenerative or herniated discs
Facet injection—to provide temporary or permanent pain relief in the joints of your spine, usually caused by degeneration, inflammation from injury, or arthritis
Intra articular injections—for knee, hip, shoulder and sacroiliac pain
Greater occipital nerve block—an injection of steroid and a local anesthetic given in the back of the head to provide temporary or permanent relief for headaches caused by an irritation or pinching of the nerves known as occipital neuralgia
Needle electromyography (EMG) and nerve velocity (NCV)—tests to help detect the presence, location and extent of conditions that damage the nerves and muscles
Acupuncture—complementary therapy often involving insertion of extremely fine needles into the skin at specific points on the body to relieve chronic pain
Sympathetic block—an injection around the sympathetic nerve which is responsible for causing specific types of pain following an injury. This option is used to treat or diagnose Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
Radio frequency ablation—a procedure to deactivate nerves that supply the facet joints in the spine, disrupting the nerve conduction to reduce back or neck pain and related symptoms
Cryoanalgesia—a procedure used to freeze specific nerves to reduce or stop pain
Trigger point injection/myoneural block—a local anesthetic mixed with a steroid medication that is injected directly into the muscle to treat muscle pain
Spinal cord stimulator—an implanted device in the spine used to treat nerve pain from various causes

A referral from your physician is required prior to assessment and treatment by the pain management team.

Acute Low Back Pain Program—Part of Spine Program

Our Acute Low Back Pain Program, which is part of our comprehensive spine program, is designed for people experiencing persistent low back pain (lasting 3-5 weeks) that is not successfully treated with physical therapy. Our goals are to minimize the use of opioids, imaging tests, and invasive procedures.

Managing Your Pain Safely and Effectively

Addiction to prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Percocet®) or hydrocodone (Vicodin®) has become an epidemic across the U.S. Our program offers safe and effective treatment options for pain management, including injections, acupuncture and non-narcotic medications. While most acute low back pain can be effectively treated without narcotics, opioids may still be used cautiously when appropriate.

Accessing the Acute Low Back Pain Program

If you have low back pain, first consult with your primary care doctor who can provide the appropriate referrals, usually beginning with physical therapy at one of our convenient Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health outpatient locations. Each facility has a team specially trained in Acute Low Back Pain protocols. Treatment will involve one of the following:

Education and home exercise
Physical therapy evaluation and treatment interventions
Fast Track access to care for patients with acute pain and functional disability needing rapid intervention

Fibromyalgia Program

Fibromyalgia is a complex disorder that causes chronic pain, stiffness and muscle tenderness. Our fibromyalgia program provides a variety of tools to help people with this complex condition manage their symptoms. Learn more about the program on this page.

A Comprehensive Plan for a Complex Condition

Following an initial evaluation, our specially trained clinicians and therapists draw upon the latest research and techniques to tailor a comprehensive, individualized plan of care. Depending on your physician’s request, your treatment team may include:

Fibromyalgia nurse to help you manage your condition through diet, exercise, relaxation training and other lifestyle changes; referral to community resources; and interventions for any other health conditions associated with fibromyalgia
Physical therapist to evaluate and extend range of motion, teach pain management and manual therapy techniques and provide exercises to help enhance tolerance
Occupational therapist to increase level of function in activities of daily living through better body mechanics, pacing and time management, as well as adaptive equipment
Neuropsychologist to assess your emotional well-being and coping style, offer individual therapy to improve behavioral management, and refer to appropriate resources to address significant emotional distress

If you already have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, your primary care doctor can refer you for assessment and treatment by our team.

Pain Management at Lancaster General Health