Chronic Pain in Wichita Falls
Approximately 1 in 40 adults in the United States suffer from chronic pain
According to the World Health Organization, chronic pain is one of the top 20 causes of disability worldwide. While chronic pain does tend to run in families, researchers are still unsure exactly what causes someone to develop chronic pain.
When an individual suffers chronic pain, their whole life can be thrown out of balance. Ketamine can treat chronic pain symptoms, giving many another chance at life. Ketamine treatments have a host of positive effects on chronic pain. It increases endorphin production, desensitizes overactive nerves, and improves well-being.
How Ketamine Works
Recent evidence points to ketamine’s inhibitory effects on the NMDA receptor in the lateral habenula. The lateral habenula is a brain region primarily responsible for encoding negative rewards or anti-reward cause-and-effect relationships. As a non-competitive NMDA antagonist, ketamine prevents glutamate from activating the NMDA receptor.
The inhibition of the NMDA receptor may cause a build-up of free glutamate, which then activates the AMPA receptors. When surplus glutamate activates the AMPA receptor, it releases a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) chemical. BDNF, in interaction with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), promotes new neural growth. This new growth may reroute the brain from hyperactive areas associated with negative reward signals, thereby providing long-term relief from mental health conditions and chronic pain conditions.
Boosting Endorphins in the Central Nervous System
Decreasing Neural Signals That Could Exacerbate Chronic Soreness
Working Against Chronic Stress
Ketamine can substantially reduce levels of cortisol. The reduction in cortisol likely means ketamine is effective at reducing chronic stress. Chronic stress reduces cognitive capacity and long-term memory and hampers critical thinking. Ketamine may, over time, reverse these effects, yielding higher cognitive performance, better retention, and more task focus resulting in improved critical thinking.
Getting Relief
Chronic pain can interfere with your ability to work, sleep, and engage in activities you enjoy, and it can also lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, and isolation.
In addition to these emotional and social effects, chronic pain can also have serious physical consequences. Chronic pain can cause changes in the nervous system that make the pain worse over time, leading to muscle weakness, stiffness, and decreased mobility. These physical changes can make it more difficult to perform everyday tasks and increase your risk of falls and other accidents.
Treatment for chronic pain can help to improve your symptoms and reduce the impact of pain on your life. If you or a loved one suffers from chronic pain, Kairos can help. Now is the time! Contact us today.
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