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Treatments for Pain
How is pain treated?
Many different treatments can ease pain. How your pain is treated usually depends on how long you've been in pain and how bad it is. Often the best approach is a mix of treatments.
You and your doctor will work together to find ways to manage your pain so you can feel better and do more for yourself. But you still may have some pain.
If you have pain for a long time, your treatment may change over time.
Treatments other than medicines
Often people think of starting with a medicine to treat pain. But there are many non-medicine treatments that may be just as helpful. Your doctor may recommend these treatments with or without medicine. Non-medicine treatments may include:
- Physical treatments. This includes physical activity, massage, acupuncture, and heat or cold.
- Behavioral health treatments. This includes cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
- Mind-body treatments. This includes biofeedback, relaxation exercises, hypnosis, and yoga.
Medicines to treat pain
Several types of medicines can be used to treat pain. Most of them can treat more than one kind of pain. So you may need to try a couple of medicines to see which works best for you. Your doctor will work with you to find the right types and dosage of medicine. You may take more than one kind of medicine at the same time.
Medicines may include:
- Over-the-counter medicines. This may include acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as Advil).
- Anticonvulsants. This includes gabapentin (such as Neurontin) and topiramate (such as Topamax).
- Certain antidepressants. This includes duloxetine (such as Cymbalta), venlafaxine (such as Effexor), and amitriptyline.
- Opioids. This includes acetaminophen and hydrocodone (such as Norco) and morphine (such as Kadian).
Other options may include:
- Medicine you put on your skin. A variety of creams, gels, sprays, and patches may be used.
- Injections. Medicine may be injected into the spine, near the nerves that affects the painful area, or into the painful joint or joints.
Condition Spotlight
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but may open in the future.