Franklin Pain and Wellness Center

One of the complaints of pain patients is that they are misunderstood. They feel like a burden to their friends and family, or that people don’t believe the pain they are experiencing is real. At the Franklin Pain Center the entire staff is trained and dedicated to pain patients.

Often, pain is hard to describe and can be frustrating. At the Franklin Pain and Wellness Center, the doctors take the time to listen to the patients’ concerns. We also understand how important it is to communicate with other specialists the patient has been seen by, in order to collect a full medical history. This helps with pain diagnosis and treatment planning.

If you feel frustrated about your pain situation, call the specialists at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center to schedule an evaluation. Call 508-507-8818 or e-mail staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

You were an active adult and an active senior up until recently. Arthritis aches and pains have been slowly getting worse and now you are at the point of being uncomfortable for most if not all of your day. But the worse part of your arthritis pain is that now, as a result of the pain, you can no longer work out, go for walks, or maintain that active lifestyle that you are used to.

With later stage, or more developed arthritis, often cortisone shots no longer work, and that was how you used to get temporary relief. Arthritis should not be allowed to take away your freedom and your health. Debilitating chronic arthritis pain allows age to creep up on you where you used to be able to hold it off through your activities and your active lifestyle.

The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center may be the solution to your arthritis pain. Our pain specialists have determined methods and treatments to minimize chronic arthritis pain. Contact us and get your life and your lifestyle back.

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a type of nerve pain that affects the skin of the face.  A common symptom of trigeminal neuralgia is sharp electric-like spasms that last a few seconds, minutes or may even become constant.  Pain is generally felt on one side of the face.  Usually the spasms occur around the eye, cheek and lower part of the face. 

The pain stems from the trigeminal nerve and sends pain signals via it’s extended branches to the face.  Generally, when the root of the trigeminal nerve is compressed, it misfires, resulting in these painful attacks.  

Trigeminal nerve blocks are one of the treatments offered at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center to control the pain caused by Trigeminal Neuralgia.  Nerve blocks are most effective when repeated several times over weeks or months.  This way, the pain can be controlled for much longer. 

To find out if Trigeminal Nerve Blocks are a good treatment option for you, or to discuss your pain solution, call The Franklin Pain and Wellness at (508) 507-8818 or e-mail at staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

CASE OF THE MONTH

Minimizing Medication Dependency of Difficult Chronic Pain Patients

Our Comprehensive pain management approach offers procedures and treatments to help manage your patient's pain.

Radiofrequency Ablation eliminates need for Canadian Crutches

Pain patient, Carlo, tells Franklin Pain Center...

"I have been in pain in my back, neck and legs since 1999. I had to use a cane and then had to use Canadian crutches to help me walk. I was always in pain and my activities were always shortened, not to mention the pain medication I was taking, which was not helping. Before going to Dr. Boris I was worried that I would get worse, but I had too much pain and my quality of life was limited. I couldn’t walk nor stand [for too long] before I had to sit. Even sitting for a long period of time was painful. Today I feel much better. I still have pain but nothing like before. I don’t use the cane nor do I use my Canadian crutches. After the nerve blocks my life is better, I’m more active and more mobile. I am so thankful to Dr. Boris and recommend the pain treatment to everyone. My life is so much better I am happier and now can enjoy myself with my family. My wife is happier also."

For a referral packet or to refer a patient using our referral form on our website go to franklinpaincenter.com/doctors

Approximately 28 million Americans suffer from Migraine headaches, but 1 in 6 people have been mistakenly diagnosed with a tension or sinus headache. Migraines often make daily functioning difficult to impossible and rob you of quality of life, lasting anywhere between several hours to 3 days.

Migraine symptoms include a pounding headache, nausea, vomiting, and light sensitivity. Food, stress and hormones can be migraine triggers.

The cause of migraine headaches is not fully understood, but it is believed to be neurological and that brain chemicals, blood vessels, and nerves of the brain are involved.

Migraines can be set off from a specific cause, often involving light, wearing polarized sunglasses and using daylight spectrum fluorescent bulbs may help.

Relaxation exercises can help you with the triggers of stress and tension.

The Franklin Pain Center specialists understand that migraines detract from your quality of life, and this is time you can’t afford to waste. Treatment is aimed at controlling the pain associated with Migraine headaches to allow for participation in daily activities, contact us.

All Chronic pain treatments offered at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center are minimally invasive and are usually a good alternative to surgery. Chronic Pain Treatments can range from injections to stimulators, depending on the type of chronic pain the patient is suffering from.

For example, low back and radiating leg pain can be treated with Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections. Spine fractures caused by osteoporosis can be treated by a minimally invasive procedure called Kyphoplasty. Kyphoplasty provides fast back pain relief by using a thin hollow tube to insert a cast into a collapsed vertebrae and help straighten the spine. A procedure that can be very effective in relieving certain types of pain in the back, legs and arms is Spinal Cord Stimulation. This is also a minimally invasive procedure that uses electrical stimulation to mitigate pain sensations.

Our pain specialists will work with your doctors as a medical team to offer the best type of pain solution for your chronic pain. To schedule an evaluation and talk about the chronic pain treatments that are available at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center, please call (508) 507-8818 or e-mail us at staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

Muscle pain, or Myofascial pain syndrome is the pain and inflammation of the body's muscles or soft tissue. Usually a chronic condition, muscle pain can be isolated to a single muscle or consist of an entire muscle group. Often with muscle pain, referred pain occurs. This is when the area where a person experiences the pain may not be where the myofascial pain generator is located.

Muscle pain can be caused by injury or trauma, overuse, certain drugs, infections or certain illnesses. Generally, the pain is actually coming from the connective tissue that covers the muscles. Symptoms of muscle pain usually involve pain with specific "trigger" or "tender" points. Small bumps form on the connective tissue and pain is felt when these bumps are pressed in the areas where they come in contact with the muscle.

Muscle pain can vary in intensity, but chronic muscle pain can be debilitating. Muscle pain is treated through various techniques by our pain specialists and the most common is, trigger point injections. Trigger point injections are used to treat painful areas where knots of muscle or trigger points form when muscles do not relax.

Contact Franklin Pain Center for more information on the symptoms and treatment of chronic muscle pain.

Spinal Cord Stimulation is a minimally invasive procedure that controls chronic pain. A pain specialist will most likely first need to do a trial to understand if the Spinal Cord Stimulator is the best solution to manage your specific pain. During the trial, the pain specialist will place one or more leads in the area along the spinal cord. The placement area will depend on where your specific pain is.

The leads will also be connected to a trial generator. The pain specialist will use the trial generator to test your leads and make sure they are in the right place to treat your pain. You will be asked questions like:

• Do you feel a tingling sensation?
• Where do you feel the tingling?
• Does the tingling cover your pain?

By answering these questions, you will help make sure the leads are positioned well. The pain specialist will then show you how to use the trial generator to adjust the strength of the stimulator so you can experiment with what makes you comfortable. You will then be sent home to carry out your trial period with the Spinal Cord Stimulator.

At the end of your trial period, you and your pain specialist will determine if you should have a permanent system and which system would be appropriate for your pain. The pain specialist will consult and collaborate with your primary care physician and any other specialists you are under care of, to ensure that the best treatment plan is being carried out for you.

To schedule your initial evaluation to see if Spinal Cord Stimulation is a good solution for your chronic pain, please call (508) 507-8818 or e-mail us at staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

There is a new treatment available for patients who suffer from Cervical, Thoracic or Lumbar Disc Herniations. Endoscopic Disectomy is a minimally invasive spine procedure that relieves pressure caused by scar tissue and abnormal bone. Endoscopic Disectomy can also help conditions such as Bulging Discs, Degenerative Disc Disease, Nerve Root Compression, Radiculitis, Radiculopathy, Scar Tissue and Pinched Nerves.

Endoscopic Disectomy is performed by passing a tube-like instrument to the injured disc, while avoiding cutting the surrounded muscles. A light guided wire device called an endoscope, along with a medical laser, is passed through the tube into the spinal disc. The laser vaporizes the herniation and removes the abnormal bone and scar tissue found in the spinal disc area. Patients are able to return home the day of treatment.

This procedure is preferred among back pain sufferers because it provides relief without the time, cost and recovery period associated with surgery. Sometimes Endoscopic Disectomy can even help those who have had failed back surgery.

Call 508-507-8818 or e-mail The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center today to schedule an evaluation. If Endoscopic Disectomy is not the exact procedure for your pain condition, our specialists will advise the best treatment for your specific pain.

Pain specialists are doctors who treat pain, they specialize in pain medicine. Pain medicine is a medical specialty that focuses on the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of pain.

Pain Specialists are experts at diagnosing the reasons and sources of pain and then treating that specific pain. Anesthesiologists usually specialize in pain management. This makes sense; this is the field that has the most experience managing pain during labor or surgery.

There are different types of pain and most have become treatable through medications, nerve blocks, physical therapy, electrical stimulations, surgery, and psychological support. Although drug dependency is a common worry, at Franklin Pain and Wellness Center we only use non-habit forming treatments and drug recommendations.

Research has led to the development of newer, more effective treatments for people who have pain. Methods and treatments have been developed to minimize or eradicate chronic pain such as lower back; neck; headaches; post herpetic neuralgia (shingles); reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD); maxillofacial pain and other chronic ailments.

Contact the Franklin Pain and Wellness Center for information or to book your consultation.