The use of hot and cold modalities, which the patient can safely use at home, should be encouraged. The use of devices or treatments that require the help of other persons or professional settings, such as ultrasound or massage, are best reserved for acute pain syndromes or intermittently painful chronic conditions.

Biofeedback

Relaxation training and biofeedback are behavioral treatment methods, which have been successfully used to treat a wide variety of pain syndromes, including myofascial and sympathetically maintained pain syndromes.

Several relaxation techniques are used for chronic pain. The two most commonly utilized are autogenic training and progressive muscle relaxation. Biofeedback is simply a system, which utilizes instrumentation to provide feedback on a variety of physiological responses such as hand temperature, muscle tension, and sweat gland activity to facilitate relaxation and enhance self-regulation.

Relaxation training and biofeedback are thought to be equally effective. Repeated practice and experience with relaxation techniques is important to ensure effectiveness.

Anesthetic Treatments

Anesthetic techniques are part of the therapeutic armamentarium used in the management of chronic pain. Some of these techniques are especially helpful when used as diagnostic or prognostic procedures. They can be powerful tools when used intelligently for chronic pain, especially in the context of a multidisciplinary approach.

They also play a role in the prevention of the chronic pain syndrome. Nerve blocks can be used as diagnostic, prognostic, or therapeutic procedures. Injecting a local anesthetic onto the nerves, which interrupts the sensory and nociceptive pathways, does neural blockade.

Prognostic blocks are used weight the effects of prolonged afferent interruption. They are used before neuroblative or neurolytic procedures. Therapeutic blocks are performed with local anesthetics or with neurolytic agents.

Sympathetic nerve blocks are some of the more effective therapeutic tools in dealing with chronic pain. These blocks can be used for diagnostic, prognostic, and especially for therapeutic purposes.

The sympathetic chain can be blocked in many locations, including the stellate ganglia, thoracic ganglia, celiac plexus, splanchnic nerves, lumbar plexus, hypogastric plexus, and even the impar ganglion.

When dealing with sympathetically maintained pain, a secondaries of sympathetic blocks or neurolytic sympathetic blocks or both, can be effective Therapeutic approach.

Alternative treatments to manage pain are very popular these days. These have no side-effects and are relatively inexpensive. The popular ones are Accupuncture, Ayurveda and Reiki. It is important for the patient to get Accupuncture treatment done with a professionally qualified person and minimize the risk of infection with needles