MURRAY, KY – Murray-Calloway County Hospital is proud to announce the launch of its new Pain Institute of Murray, expanding access to advanced, personalized care for patients living with acute and chronic pain.

This new service is led by River Valley Pain Partners and their highly trained, board certified pain management providers with expertise in pain management and patient safety. The program designed to help patients reduce pain, restore function, and improve overall quality of life.

“Pain can affect every aspect of a person’s life – from their ability to work and stay active to their overall well-being,” said Skylar Pharris, CRNA. “Our goal is to provide compassionate, evidence-based care close to home, so patients do not have to travel far to find relief. Most people are waiting weeks to be seen, while dealing with debilitating pain. We will get you in quickly to get you back to activities that are important to you!”

The Interventional Pain Institute of Murray will offer a comprehensive approach to care, including:

• Thorough patient evaluations
• Individualized treatment plans
• Image-guided injections and minimally invasive procedures
• Medication management with the goal of reducing opiates by using a multi-model technique.
• Coordination with primary care providers and other specialists
• Coolief Radiofrequency Ablations (a non-surgical procedure to reduce chronic back and joint pain)

Conditions treated include back and neck pain, joint pain, arthritis, nerve pain, chronic headaches, and pain related to injury or surgery.

Interventional pain treatments can include:

Injections target different areas of pain throughout the body. These injections can include:

1. Epidural steroid injection – uses a local anesthetic to reduce pain and inflammation by numbing the nerves and then injecting a corticosteroid or other solution into the space of your spine.
2. Facet joint block – uses fluoroscopy, an image-guided needle placement, to identify and treat pain directly in the facet joint (the joints form the articular pillars that help provide structural stability to the vertebral column).
3. Sacroiliac joint injection – uses local anesthetic and corticosteroids injected into the SI joint that links the pelvis and lower spine.
4. Trigger point injection – injects medicine into the trigger point to help relax muscles and reduce pain.
5. Botox injection for migraines – injects into muscles of the head that cause tension and migraines. The treatment is not meant to stop an active migraine but is used to prevent headache days before they even start by blocking pain-signaling chemicals in the nervous system.

Nerve Blocks – inject medicine near or on a nerve. Different types of nerve blocks include:

1. Medial branch block – treats arthritic joint changes or low back pain. Specialists inject medication near the nerve outside the affected joint space.
2. Sympathetic block – treats vascular issues or chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a condition causing severe burning pain in one of the arms, legs, hands, or feet.
3. Stellate Ganglion – Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) is a quick outpatient procedure that involves injecting a local anesthetic into a bundle of nerves in your neck. This temporary nerve block “resets” the sympathetic nervous system, often providing rapid relief from symptoms of trauma, chronic pain, or circulation issues, as well as restoring the lack of smell and taste post COVID symptoms.

Ablation

1. Radiofrequency nerve ablation uses electrical currents (radio waves) to heat a specific joint nerve to destroy the nerve and relieve pain for 12-18 months and can be done on joints (shoulders, hips, knees) and spine.

By offering expanded pain management services directly at the hospital, Murray-County Hospital continues its commitment to meeting the growing healthcare needs of the community with high-quality, patient-centered care.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the Interventional Pain Institute of Murray at 270.762.1240 or visit www.murrayhospital.org.