Ketamine Infusions

The team at Minimally Invasive Medical Group, which has locations in Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, and Irvine, California, wants nothing more than for you to get relief from pain so you can take back your life. If you suffer from chronic pain and can’t find relief from conventional treatments, the team at Minimally Invasive Medical Group can recommend ketamine infusions. Call the nearest office or request an appointment online today. 

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is an anesthetic first developed in the 1960s as an alternative to phencyclidine (PCP). As a powerful anesthetic, it is used to put patients to sleep before surgery or to prevent pain during a medical test or procedure. However, its use as an anesthetic has been limited due to its side effects, which include hallucinations and panic attacks.

More recently, pain management specialists are using low doses of ketamine to treat chronic pain that doesn’t respond well to traditional treatments.

What are ketamine infusions?

A ketamine infusion is a specialized treatment used to manage both acute and chronic pain. For acute pain, the analgesic effects of the ketamine stop the pain, while for chronic pain, the medication reverses central sensitization, making your nerves less sensitive or reactive to pain.

Who is a good candidate for ketamine infusions?

The team at Minimally Invasive Medical Group can determine if you’re a good candidate for ketamine infusions. Before they recommend ketamine infusions to relieve your pain, they will try other, more traditional methods of pain management, including medication, physical therapy, or injections. If these methods fail to control your pain, only then will your Minimally Invasive Medical Group provider suggest ketamine infusion therapy.

Due to the mechanism of its action, ketamine infusion provides the most relief to patients with neuropathic pain. Conditions that can benefit from ketamine infusion include:

• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Post-herpetic neuralgia

It’s been theorized that ketamine infusion relieves pain by inhibiting N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, which is the receptor responsible for the constant activation of your nerve-pain signals responsible for chronic pain. However, researchers are still investigating how exactly it helps reduce pain.

Are ketamine infusions safe?

When administered by a pain management physician, ketamine infusion for the treatment of chronic pain is considered safe. If you do experience side effects, your Minimally Invasive Medical Group provider can control the infusion to relieve those symptoms.

While ketamine infusions have the potential to significantly reduce your pain, their use is considered experimental, so results vary from patient to patient – not everyone will experience relief from their pain.

To learn more about ketamine infusions, call Minimally Invasive Medical Group or request an appointment using the online booking feature today.