New to MyHealth?
Manage Your Care From Anywhere.
Access your health information from any device with MyHealth. You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill.
ALREADY HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
DON'T HAVE AN ACCESS CODE?
NEED MORE DETAILS?
MyHealth for Mobile
Treatments for Pain
How is pain treated?
Many different treatments can ease pain. Medicines are the most common treatment.
Along with medicines, other things like reducing your stress level or changing how you think can help you feel better.
Talk with your doctor about what treatments might work best for you. If you have pain for a long time, your treatment may change over time.
Medicines to treat pain
Several types of medicines can be used to treat pain. Most of them can treat more than one kind of pain. So you may need to try a couple of medicines to see which works best for you. Your doctor will work with you to find the right types and dosage of medicine. You may take more than one kind of medicine at the same time.
Medicine | Types of pain |
---|---|
Acetaminophen:
|
|
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs):
|
|
Anticonvulsants:
|
|
Opioid pain relievers:
|
|
Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants:
|
|
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants:
|
|
Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants:
|
|
NMDA receptor antagonists:
|
|
Reducing stress
Stress can make pain worse. It can tighten your muscles, which can cause headaches and pain in your neck, shoulders, and back. You can talk to your doctor about ways to reduce stress and pain.
Changing how you think
How you think can affect how you feel. You may be able to reduce your pain by stopping negative thoughts. You can change what you say to yourself about your pain. You can talk to your doctor or a counselor about ways stop negative thoughts.
Other treatments
You may want to try other ways to help you relax and ease pain. These may include:
- Acupuncture. Very thin needles are put into the skin at certain places on your body to relieve pain.
- Biofeedback. You may use this to help control muscle tension, heart rate, and other reactions to pain.
- Heat or cold. These can help arthritis. You also can use heat or cold for sore muscles and other aches.
- Hypnosis. This may help you focus your mind on something other than your pain.
- Massage. This can reduce muscle tension.
- Meditation. This may help you focus your mind on something other than your pain. It also can reduce stress.
- Physical therapy. This treatment can improve how you move and your overall fitness.
- Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS). A mild electrical current is used to relieve pain.
- Yoga. This may increase your strength and how well you move. It also can reduce stress.
Condition Spotlight
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but may open in the future.