Pain Solutions
Introduction
Based on data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), it is estimated that within a previous three-month period, 25 million U.S. adults had daily chronic pain, and 23 million more reported severe pain.
In addition, approximately 20% of American adults (42 million people) report that pain or physical discomfort disrupts their sleep a few nights a week or more. When asked about four common types of pain, respondents of a National Institute of Health Statistics survey indicated that low back pain was the most common (27%), followed by severe headache or migraine pain (15%), neck pain (15%) and facial ache or pain (4%).
Since there are different types of pain, there should be many different aspects to pain management. Sadly, the standard approach to pain, prescribing pharmacological agents such as opioid drugs, has proven itself to be insufficient in many cases.
Comprehensive Pain Solutions
At the Alpine Valley Wellness Center (AVWC), we treat you, and every patient, as a distinct person with a unique perspective, biochemistry, and history. Using our exceptional integrative medical approach, we are dedicated to finding the root cause of your pain and restoring the quality of life that has been lost. Your comprehensive treatment plan, which is tailored to your unique medical needs, could include any number of cutting edge pain resolution approaches. In addition, attention is given to lifestyle interventions that improve your body’s ability to recover from pain, including optimizing sleep, stress management, diet, mood, and movement.
Physical Pain Procedures:
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical therapy which uses very fine, sterile stainless steel needles to stimulate specific energetic points on the body. Dr. Piscopo also practices a form of acupuncture that does not require needles, called Acutonics, for individuals who may have difficulty tolerating them. For more information on acupuncture, please see our page on that subject.
Electrotherapy is defined as the application of electrical energy to the body as a form of medical treatment, an approach that has a long history. There are several forms of electrotherapy, including the use of TENS unit to block pain at the spinal cord level.
- Frequency Specific Microcurrent (FSM) is a new system of treatment using micro-amperage current and the resonance effects of frequencies on tissues and conditions to create beneficial changes. More information about this form of treatment can be found here.
Our physicians have been trained in FSM therapy, which is particularly useful for acute and chronic pain conditions. FSM is safe, effective, and painless. Its ability to deliver results is the reason it has been used by the NFL and by the Tour de France team of the US Postal Service.
For more information on FSM, please visit the Frequency Specific Microcurrent website.
Injection therapy involves the use of therapeutic injections as a way to treat acute and chronic pain conditions. There are several forms of injection therapy, including biopuncture, prolotherapy, perineural injection treatment (PIT), and homeosiniatry.
Biopuncture is an exciting new injection technique that uses natural substances for pain management. These sterile solutions, which are FDA-approved and derived mainly from plants and minerals, are selected by trained, licensed practitioners like Dr. Piscopo to stimulate the body’s healing mechanisms in specific ways. The most popular use for biopuncture is for musculoskeletal problems including sprains, muscle spasm, arthritis, neck or back pain, sciatica, tendonitis, sports injuries, joint pain or degeneration, bursitis, muscle tension headaches and so on. But biopuncture can also assist with stress or psycho-emotional issues as well.
Injection therapy uses a number of different agents to help reduce pain. At the Alpine Valley Wellness Center, we do not use controversial drugs like cortisone. Instead, we use a variety of effective pain management agents including Lidocaine and low dose botanicals such as Traumeel and Zeel. A recent research study supports the effectiveness of Traumeel and Zeel for knee pain, to give one example, which can be found here: Traumeel and Zeel research paper.
Laser therapy, also known as low-level laser or light therapy, is a treatment that utilizes specific types of light to interact with tissue. It is used to eliminate pain and promote healing for a variety of medical conditions.
More information about this therapy can be found here.
Psycho-emotional Pain Procedures:
The Journey is an effective psycho-emotional process created by Brandon Bays, which many have found to be a transformational experience. The experience takes on average about 1 1/2 hours and is facilitated by Dr. Piscopo. Most people only require one or two sessions to complete the process, which takes you on a healing journey through your emotional landscape. Long standing family issues, trauma, abuse, and other psycho-emotional issues respond very well to this gentle but effective approach.
Please go here for more information about The Journey.
As defined by the HeartMath Institute, HeartMath is a unique system of validated techniques and advanced technologies that assist with optimizing emotional, mental and physical health. The approach is based on scientific research centered around Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and its relationship with the body, especially with the heart and the autonomic nervous system. HeartMath is internationally recognized for practical solutions that can transform your relationship with the stress of change and uncertainty, bringing about greater ease and coherence in your life.
According to co-founder Gary Craig, EFT is a universal healing tool that can provide impressive results for physical, emotional, and performance issues. EFT operates on the premise that no matter what part of your life needs improvement, there are typically unresolved emotional issues in the way. Even for physical issues, such as chronic pain or diagnosed health conditions, it is a common finding that emotional stress can impede the body’s ability to heal itself.
EFT combines the physical benefits of acupuncture with the cognitive benefits of conventional therapy for a much faster, more complete treatment of emotional issues, and the physical and performance issues that often result. Instead of using needles, as is done in traditional acupuncture, the EFT technique uses a unique tapping system, which means it is available for use in any place at any time once it is learned.
EFT combines the physical benefits of acupuncture with the cognitive benefits of conventional therapy for a much faster, more complete treatment of emotional issues, and the physical and performance issues that often result. Instead of using needles, as is done in traditional acupuncture, the EFT technique uses a unique tapping system, which means it is available for use in any place at any time once it is learned.
Treatment Areas:
Below are some examples of the areas of the body we treat. Please note that we are NOT limited to just these examples because we do not just treat the disease – we treat YOU.
- Headaches
- Migraines
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- TMJ pain
- Whiplash
- Neck Strain
- Facet pain
- Rotator Cuff pain
- Tendinitis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Spondylolithisis
- Scoliosis
- Sciatica
- SI joint pain
- Disc herniation pain
- Pelvic floor myalgia
- Arthritis
- Degeneration
- Knee strain/sprain
- Arthritis
- Degeneration
- Plantar Fasciitis