Treatment Option List
Here is a working list of treatment options for pain by category. We have ordered them from least invasive to most invasive. We encourage you to print out this list and bring it to your clinician to see which therapies they might recommend.
Self-management techniques
- Activity restriction or modification
- Assistive devices or technologies
- Diet and nutrition
- Exercise and strengthening programs
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Sleep hygiene
- Support groups
- Stress reduction techniques, including visualization or body scanning
- Stretching and mobility programs
Restorative therapies
- Chiropractic care
- Dry needling
- Exercise programs
- Floatation therapy
- Heat and cold therapy
- Kinesiology taping
- Massage therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Osteopathic medicine
- Physical therapy
- Pool or aquatic therapy
- Postural training
- Traction
Complementary and integrative health options
- Acupuncture
- Acupressure
- Aromatherapy
- Art, music, dance, and equine therapy
- Ayurvedic medicine
- Craniosacral therapy
- Cupping
- Herbal and vitamin products
- Hypnosis
- Reflexology
- Reiki
- Traditional Chinese medicine
Mind-body and behavioral health approaches
A note about mind-body approaches: Addressing the psychosocial impact of pain does not mean your pain isn’t real. But stress exacerbates pain, and likewise, pain exacerbates stress. Interrupting this cycle is essential to improving your quality of life.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Biofeedback or neurofeedback
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Counseling
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Psychiatric care
- Spirituality
- Stress reduction techniques
- Support groups
- Virtual reality programs
Medications
The medication categories below are associated with general pain relief; however, there are many other disease-specific medications that treat the underlying condition and therefore relieve pain (e.g. calcitonin gene-related peptide inhibitors for migraine, or immunosuppressive medications for autoimmune disorders). Some pain medications may work across multiple channels and categories of relief, or they may be formulated in combination with other medications to target multiple channels. Medications may be delivered in various ways; for example, orally, intravenously, or topically.
- Acetaminophen
- Antidepressants
- Antiepileptics
- Corticosteroids
- Local anesthetics and topicals
- Medical cannabis
- Medical foods
- Muscle relaxants
- N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonists
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories
- N-type calcium channel blocker
- Opioid analgesics
- Opioid agonist and antagonists
External neuromodulation and stimulation devices
- Deep oscillation therapy
- High-frequency impulse therapy
- H-WAVE
- Infrared light therapy
- Interferential current stimulation
- Laser therapy
- Neuromuscular electrical stimulation
- Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
- Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy
- Scrambler therapy
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
- Ultrasound therapy
- Vagus nerve stimulation
Interventional procedures
Injections or blocks
- Epidural injections
- Facet blocks
- Hyaluronic acid injections
- Joint injections
- Medial branch blocks
- OnabotulinumtoxinA injections
- Platelet-rich plasma injections
- Peripheral nerve blocks
- Sympathetic nerve blocks
- Trigger point injections
Neurolysis procedures
- Chemical neurolysis
- Cryoneurolysis or cryoablation
- Radiofrequency ablation or lesioning
Implanted neuromodulation devices
- Dorsal root ganglion stimulation
- Intrathecal pain pump
- Peripheral nerve and field stimulation
- Spinal cord stimulation