Painful Limb Ischemia Treatment
Individuals living with constant, severe pain, such as pain from limb ischemia, know the significant impact of pain disorders with regard to the quality of life. Complex pain caused by vascular diseases, such as critical limb ischemia, can cause significant disruptions and restrictions to a patient’s ability to participate in daily activities. For those with painful limb ischemia, finding successful treatment with substantial, enduring results can be difficult, as existing strategies for pain control are not effective for everyone.
Patients may be unsuccessful in finding adequate pain relief, while others are ineligible to receive the available range of treatment options. Our ketamine clinic can provide you with customized chronic pain treatment and help relieve symptoms commonly associated with inflammatory pain and pain resulting from limb ischemia. Contact us to schedule painful limb ischemia treatment.
What Is Limb Ischemia?
Ischemia is a serious condition characterized by inadequate blood flow and oxygen to a specific area of the body — it may occur anywhere the blood flows, including the limbs, brain, and heart. Limb ischemia is generally caused by the narrowing or blockage of arteries, causing severe pain in the feet or toes, even while resting. Complications from poor circulation may include sores and wounds that won’t heal in the legs and feet, which can lead to tissue damage and possibly amputation. In the lower extremities, such as the legs, ischemia can cause claudication (pain caused by too little blood flow) in peripheral artery disease (PAD) and acute limb ischemia (ALI) or, in severe cases, it can result in critical limb ischemia (CLI).
Painful limb ischemia is typically caused by atherosclerosis (build-up of plaque) and, in rare cases, vasculitis. While ischemia typically occurs in the lower limbs, the upper limbs and gluteals can also become affected. Severe ischemia, such as critical limb ischemia, is characterized by persistent and severe ischaemic pain — commonly referred to as rest pain because it primarily occurs while the individual is either resting or asleep — related to tissue loss, ulceration, and poor tissue perfusion. Risk factors include age (men over 60 and women after menopause); smoking; diabetes; being overweight or obese; high cholesterol; high blood pressure; a sedentary lifestyle; and a family history of vascular disease, among additional factors.
Symptoms Of Painful Limb Ischemia
Painful limb ischemia symptoms vary depending upon the extent to which the blood flow is interrupted and the severity or progression of the condition. Early symptoms of lower limb ischemia may include claudication — pain, burning, or cramping in the muscles that occur during exercise and go away with rest. Over time, this can progress to CLI or the reduction of blood flow within the limbs that causes extreme pain and severe tissue loss.
If the tissue of the limb is affected, non-healing sores or even gangrene can occur and the skin may turn black. Sudden onset of chronic limb ischemia may cause severe pain, loss of pulses, coldness in the limbs, loss of skin color, leg weakness, and loss of sensation. Other symptoms include, but are not limited to, the following. If you experience these symptoms and you seek an effective and natural alternative pain treatment for chronic pain, contact Florida Mind Health Center.
- Deep, burning pain in the legs
- Loss of sensation or numbness in the feet
- Shiny, smooth, dry skin in the legs or feet
- Thickening of toenails
- Non-healing, open sores, skin infections, or ulcers
- Absent or diminished pulse in the legs or feet
- Dry, black skin (dry gangrene) of the legs or feet
Ketamine Infusion For Ischemic Pain
Available ischemic leg treatments within traditional medicine include improving perfusion through surgical or endovascular treatment in order to reduce pain. But in some cases, such treatment is not possible due to a high degree of tissue loss or if the region cannot successfully be reconstructed, resulting in continued pain. Amputation is sometimes required, but this outcome is typically delayed or prevented if it is possible to effectively control pain without limb removal. For patients seeking to treat chronic pain symptoms with a natural, patient-centered treatment method, we offer a trusted solution through ketamine infusions.
Chronic pain is most effectively treated using a patient-specific, interdisciplinary approach. Ketamine infusion therapy is widely used to help patients manage acute pain conditions and it has found success in treating patients with opioid tolerance, acute hyperalgesia, and chronic neuropathic pain. Ketamine treatment is used extensively to treat painful limb ischemia, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), and other neuropathic pain conditions with a special focus on syndromes containing neuropathic components. During an infusion, ketamine binds to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, blocking their ability to communicate with other brain regions. This helps restore crucial connections previously harmed as a result of limb ischemia. Ketamine infusions may be combined with other medications and treatments in order to create a balanced approach that meets the needs of each patients’ unique body and brain chemistry.
Ketamine Treatments For Chronic Pain
Our ketamine infusion clinic offers a comprehensive range of ketamine treatments for healing a wide variety of different pain conditions, including painful limb ischemia. Each treatment comprises highly individualized, compassionate care in order to help patients heal and recover from their conditions. If you suffer from severe, chronic pain, call our clinic and find out how ketamine infusion for chronic pain syndromes can help you — contact us today.