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SINGAPORE: Up to 90 per cent of the patients at the Singapore General Hospital's (SGH’s) Pain Management Centre are seeking treatment for back and shoulder pain. And the hospital has come up with a new method for treating such ailments.
Long hours at work can lead to chronic pain, but those aches in the legs and arms may be symptoms of a bigger problem.
Doctors say the most common cause of such symptoms is pressure on the nerves in the spine and neck. They say this often leads to shooting pain felt in the arms and lower back, and may even affect the legs.
A new procedure offered by the SGH’s Pain Management Centre can halve the amount of pain suffered.
Called radio frequency discal nucleoplasty, the surgery involves inserting a needle into the affected area and using radio frequency waves to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.
For the 10 patients who have undergone the surgery so far, doctors say almost 90 per cent of most pain went away within a week or two.
Doctors say that patients suffering from pain should get help as soon as possible, and warn that the longer patients wait to seek treatment, the more likely it is to become a chronic condition.
They also say it is better to use regular exercise and medication to control the pain and that surgery should be a last resort.
- CNA/yt
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