Pain Management Clinic
What is Chronic Pain?
Chronic pain is characterised as pain that has been on-going for 12 weeks or more despite the use of simple pain medication like ibuprofen and paracetamol and despite carrying out a course of exercise and physiotherapy.Chronic pain is a disease of the central nervous system and can be defined as pain that either persists beyond the point that healing would be expected to be complete or that occurs in disease processes in which healing does not take place. The pain may be continuous or intermittent and can typically present for 3-6 months before patients seek active treatment.Chronic back pain, 95% of which originates from the lower lumbar spine, can be very debilitating, with patients often predisposed to sleep loss, long periods of absence from work and, in some cases, patients can develop depression.Chronic back pain can manifest with pain on one or both sides of the lower back and the pain can extend to the buttocks or thighs but often not lower than the knee.
Pain can be classified by the type of pain or by body region.
Classification by pain types includes:
- Neuropathic pain: burning, stabbing, tingling, insect crawling, shooting, associated with allodynia, hypersensitivity or other sensory changes.
- Nociceptive pain: aching, boring, worse on movement, anatomically defined, fluctuates in severity.
- Mixed Pain: combination of both neuropathic & nociceptive pain symptoms.
- Visceral pain: dull, diffuse, ill-defined.
- Although chronic pain is often neuropathic, it can also arise from other types of pain and it is possible to classify chronic pain by the underlying condition or body region which is causing the pain.
Common painful disorders seen in our chronic pain service include but are not limited to:
- Post Surgical Pain
- Peripheral Neuropathy
- Post-Herpetic Neuralgia
- Peripheral Nerve Injuries, including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
- Myofascial Pain
- Persistent Post-Surgical Pain
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Joint Pain
- Cancer Pain
Some of the procedures carried out in this Department are:
- Injections of the Cervical and Lumbar Facet Joints
- Peripheral and Autonomic Nerve Blocks
- Selective Nerve Root Injections
- Epidural Steroid Injections
- Trigger Point Injections
- Sacro-iliac Joint Injections
- Radiofrequency Lesioning
- Spinal Cord Stimulation
- Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
- Pharmacological Management
Appointments
- Our service is currently available via outpatient appointment clinic and day case interventional procedure, each Wednesday
- As this service is GP referral based, we request that a letter of referral along with all other relevant records be forwarded to your Consultant prior to the initial appointment. We recommend that prior to your appointment; you visit your family doctor to ensure you are on the right pain medication. Your GP may organise an MRI scan, a special type of x-ray that provides detailed imaging of the spine and the soft tissue, which in turn allows for a correct diagnosis of the cause.
- On the day of your procedure, please arrive no more than 20 minutes ahead of time. After registration, you will be directed to the Cath Lab, where the nurse will admit you for your procedure).
Dr Brendan Conroy
Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Specialist
Biography
Biography
Dr Brendan Conroy is a Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Specialist who completed his specialist training in St James’s Hospital Dublin, Beaumont Hospital Dublin, Mater Misericordia Hospital Dublin, Cork Regional Hospital and St Jame’s Hospital Dublin. He also received training in both Anaesthesia and Pain Management in the US and is board certified in both specialities. His teaching experience includes being an Associate Professor in both Anesthesia and Pain in the University of Texas and he currently holds the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, College of Anaesthesia Ireland.
Areas of Interest
Dr Conroy’s specialist interests include spinal pain and cancer pain. He has extensive experience in both chronic non-malignant and malignant pain.
Education
- M.D. –Trinity College Dublin
- F.F.A.R.C.S.I –Royal College of Surgeons Ireland
- BA-
- MB-
- BCh-
- BAO -
- F.F.P.M.C.A.I – College of Anesthetists Ireland
- F.I.P.P – World Institute Of Pain (US)
- DABA-
Contact Details
- Dr Brendan Conroy
- Unit 1, Chandler House, Henry Street Limerick
Dr Brendan Conroy
Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Specialist
Biography
Biography
Dr Brendan Conroy is a Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Specialist who completed his specialist training in St James’s Hospital Dublin, Beaumont Hospital Dublin, Mater Misericordia Hospital Dublin, Cork Regional Hospital and St Jame’s Hospital Dublin. He also received training in both Anaesthesia and Pain Management in the US and is board certified in both specialities. His teaching experience includes being an Associate Professor in both Anesthesia and Pain in the University of Texas and he currently holds the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, College of Anaesthesia Ireland.
Areas of Interest
Dr Conroy’s specialist interests include spinal pain and cancer pain. He has extensive experience in both chronic non-malignant and malignant pain.
Education
- M.D. –Trinity College Dublin
- F.F.A.R.C.S.I –Royal College of Surgeons Ireland
- BA-
- MB-
- BCh-
- BAO -
- F.F.P.M.C.A.I – College of Anesthetists Ireland
- F.I.P.P – World Institute Of Pain (US)
- DABA-
