Those who suffer from consistent and prolonged pain may start to feel desperate and become willing to do almost anything to make the pain stop. This can lead people to try things that are not effective or may do more harm to their body’s than good. It’s important that when deciding what to do in an attempt to prevent or reduce pain the individuals suffering should make an informed decision.

There are a variety of ways to control pain. Some of the techniques can be done at home on your own. Other techniques involve more of a significant life change. There are medications that can help control the pain.

Medications can be highly effective but anyone taking them should be aware that it can take many weeks for the medication to properly work. It’s possible to feel some relief from the pain right away, but this immediate relief is short term. Anything that lasts for enough time to be considered a cure or an effective treatment generally takes weeks to fully work. Medication should not be considered the miracle cure or solution to the discomfort of pain, whether it’s short term or long term. Medication, when used properly, should be taken in conjunction with other treatments like counseling and physical therapy. The reason why medication should be used with these types of treatments is because the causes of chronic pain can be highly varied and medication alone will not address all causes.

It’s important to make sure you learn how to used medication properly. Skilled professionals at a pain clinic can provide you with the full guidelines you need in order to make sure that the medications you’re taking are appropriate for your type of pain and that they’re being used with the correct alternative therapies so that maximum pain relief can be achieved.

Sometimes determining the type of medication to take and the amount to take can be a juggling act. Medication can lose some of its effectiveness if heavily used. The body often develops a tolerance to medications requiring a change of prescription requiring a higher dosage or a different type of medication.

Pain medications come in three forms: topical, ingested and injected. Topical drugs are the ones that are applied to the surface of your skin. They can be sprays, gels, creams and patches. They can be over the counter lotions or prescription patches.

Ingested medications can be over the counter or prescription. Common over the counter medications include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofen (Advil) and aspirin. The stronger doses of ingestible medications need a prescription. There is a variety of this type of medication. Examples include opiate pain relievers like hydrocodone (Vicodin), antidepressants and corticosteroids.

Injected medications are only available through a prescription which can be gotten from any physician skilled in pain management or one working in a pain clinic. Examples of injected medications include epidural steroid injections, joint block injections, nerve block injections and trigger point injections.