Below are listed under different subheadings, common pain diagnoses that are frequently encountered in the management of the patient with chronic or acute pain. The list provided is by no means a complete list, but reasonably represents a vast majority of clinical syndromes encountered in the practice of interventional pain management. As can be noted, most of these diagnoses are seen in primary care and tend to fall under the general subheadings. For instance, a patient with low back pain diagnosis in a general practice setting may actually have a combination of lumbar disk herniation and sacroiliitis, as well as lumbar radiculopathy, otherwise called sciatica. In this section, we have tried to highlight these commonly encountered diagnoses and further information regarding them may be obtained by accessing the appropriate websites in selected cases. As a consequence, we have highlighted some of these diagnoses in the hope of providing more information on the topic(s).

 

LOW BACK PAIN

• Lumbar disk herniation(s) or bulge
• Lumbar facet arthropathy
• Lumbar spinal canal stenosis
• Lumbar foraminal exit stenosis/narrowing
• Sacroiliitis
• Lumbar degenerative disk disease
• Post laminectomy syndrome or failed back surgery syndrome
• Chronic arachnoiditis
• Vertebral fracture
• Vertebral collapse and osteoporosis
• Coccydynia and sacral coccygeal strain

HEADACHES

• Migraine headache
• Cervicogenic headache
• Cluster headache
• Tension headache
• Post concussion syndrome headache
• Occipital Neuralgia
• Postdural puncture headache
• Atypical facial pain
• TMJ syndrome/disorders
• Trigeminal neuralgia (Tic Douloureux)
• Atlanto-occipital and atlantoaxial joint inflammation-related headache
• Mixed headache syndrome
• Rare headaches, including but not limited to tumors, subdural hematoma, concussion, meningitis, other trauma, etc.

NECK PAIN

• Whiplash
• Cervical disk herniation
• Cervical degenerative disk disease
• Cervical facet arthropathy (osteoarthritis)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Cervical spinal canal or foraminal stenosis
• Vertebral fracture (post traumatic)
• Post laminectomy syndrome with or without instability
• Atlanto-occipital and atlantoaxial joint inflammation
• Other less common causes

THORACIC PAIN AND CHEST WALL PAIN

• Costochondritis and chondrosternal pain
• Vertebral collapse and osteoporosis
• Thoracic disk herniation
• Intercostal neuritis
• Sternoclavicular joint strain
• Thoracic facet arthropathy (arthritis and osteoarthritis)
• Thoracic degenerative disk disease
• Vertebral fracture (post traumatic)
• Rib fracture(s)
• Chest wall contusion

LOWER EXTREMITY PAIN

• Lumbar radiculopathy (sciatica)
• Knee osteoarthritis
• Knee trauma pain (ACL tear, meniscal tear, chondromalacia patella, lateral collateral ligament tear, medial collateral ligament tear, fracture of the patella, etc.)
• Ankle osteoarthritis
• Ankle sprain
• Fractures (May involve the femur, tibia, fibula, tarsal bones, metatarsal bones, or the toes.)
• Phantom limb pain and stump pain.
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD; otherwise called complex regional pain syndrome)
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Hip pain and hip degeneration
• Myalgia

UPPER EXTREMITY PAIN

• Carpal tunnel syndrome (CPS)
• Carpal metacarpal joint arthritis (CMC)
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD; otherwise called complex regional pain syndrome or CRPS)
• Osteoarthritis of the hands
• Epicondylitis (lateral and medial)
• Phantom limb pain
• Stump pain
• Neuroma

SHOULDER PAIN

• Rotator cuff tendinitis (very common)
• Rotator cuff tear
• Acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) arthritis
• Impingement syndrome of shoulder with or without down sloping acromion
• Shoulder (glenoid) osteoarthritis
• Subacrominal bursitis
• Shoulder contusion, post traumatic

CANCER PAIN

• (This could be primary or metastatic.)

PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

• Depression.
• Hysteria or somatization disorder.
• Factitious disorder.
• Pain disorder.
• Conversion disorder.
• Malingering.