Pre-, peri- and post-operating management of pain for patients suffering from spine indications is a challenging topic for musculoskeletal clinicians.  For many years, practitioners were guided towards identifying and treating pain as a major health indicator.  In many instances, the resulting opioid crisis has led to the pendulum to swing the other way.  While chronic and post-operative pain are real, practitioners struggle to find the right balance between pain management and avoiding the negative side effects of opioid medications.    

The CDC has stated that “emerging data support clinicians’ carefully weighing the benefits and risks of tapering, or gradually reducing the amount of opioids, along with the benefits and risks of continuing opioids.  There is ample literature regarding opioid alternatives – NSAIDS, Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, nerve blocks, anti-convulsants and other.  

However, symptoms, causes and recognition of pain levels are patient specific.  The careful physician will consider a variety of approaches, and the level of evidence supporting their safety and efficacy.  She will also methodically capture and analyze the real-world data from her own practice, and those of similar clinical settings.  We applaud the Northwest Specialty Hospital, and their Principal Investigator Dr. Jessica Jameson, for designing and implementing an IRB-approved study Circle on the controlled use of ketamine in the context of certain spine surgeries.  

Find out more about this study at clinicaltrials.gov, ID NCT06066879.  

For more information on this Circle, including applying to join, see here.