New and modern techniques are continuously being developed in the fight against chronic pain. These efforts are prompted by the need to have safer treatments for pain in order to avoid negative effects of existing pain medications. These negative effects include addiction, pain medication tolerance, liver damage and stomach ulcers. This is the reason why researchers and pain management specialists are searching high and low for better ways to handle and manage chronic pain.
Modern technology has given numerous contributions to the medical field. Today’s technology can convert ideas and mere possibilities into reality. One of the most notable contributions of modern science to medicine is precision. This has proven to be most useful in laparoscopic surgeries and eye surgeries.
Recent studies show that precision may also lend a hand in chronic pain management. It is well-settled that the sensation of pain is created by brain signals which travel through the body’s nervous system and to the nerve endings where pain is finally perceived.
Along the nervous system, a cellular process called axoplasmic or axonal transport occurs. The axonal transport is responsible for the movement and communication of neurons and molecules along the nervous system. Since brain signals which cause the perception of pain are also transported in the same manner, experts are entertaining the possibility that treatment or cure for pain can also be directly infused into and transported within the nervous system.
The perfection of this technology will revolutionize pain management. By using the nervous system itself to transport treatment to only the affected nerve endings, the dosage that will be needed to treat or cure the pain will be greatly reduced. In fact, studies show that this type of treatment would need only about 1/10,000th of the dosage which would usually be needed if the pain medication is taken orally. This information would make anyone stop in their tracks and wonder why such a large dose of pain killer has to be taken when, in fact, the tiniest amount will be able to do the job. This leads to an even more vital question. Where does the rest of the pain killer go? It goes to the other parts of the body - to the organs, bones, tissues, blood and muscles which have absolutely no need for pain killers. That is why taking pain killers cause an array of side effects, ranging from nausea to allergies and drowsiness.
When pain medication is ingested, it first goes to the stomach (which explains why constant use can cause stomach ulcers) then some particles move on to the intestines and get expelled. A portion, however, goes also to the liver (explaining why pain killers sometimes cause liver damage) and then get expelled by the kidneys. The small remaining portion successfully makes its way to the brain and nervous system where it was originally intended to go. A minute portion makes it to the affected nerve finally and zaps the pain away.
By using the axonal transport of the nervous system, pain medication can be delivered straight to its target destination. The process is made possible with the use of an axonal transport facilitator which carries the medication to the nerve ending through the axonal transport.
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