IV Therapy for Chronic Pain: What to Expect

Chronic pain consists of any pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks. The effects can impact your quality of life and your ability to achieve quality sleep.

You’re not alone if you’re experiencing this condition. About 20% of American adults experience chronic pain, ranking the condition as one of the most common reasons for seeking medical care.

If your chronic pain hasn’t improved with medication or traditional treatments, you may benefit from IV therapy. In fact, IV therapy provides the most effective way to flood your body with nutrients that can help treat the sources of chronic, debilitating pain.

In this blog, board-certified family medicine physician Karl Trippe, MD, of Waco Primary Care in Waco, Texas, explains how IV therapy works and how it can help relieve chronic pain.

How IV therapy works

IV therapy works by delivering quality nutrition to your body in a method that ensures you get the most benefit from the nutrients you receive. The nutrients included in your IV therapy may include B vitamins, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, and amino acids in a water-based solution.

Though you may consume many of these nutrients in your daily supplements or meals, some of these components may get lost in the digestion process before they reach your bloodstream, thus reducing the benefits. IV therapy, on the other hand, ensures that your body receives all of the benefits, because the nutrition goes straight to your bloodstream, allowing your cells to absorb all of the nutrients.

The treatment is delivered in our office. A needle is inserted into a vein, and the needle is connected to a tube that’s attached to an IV bag, which contains the nutrients. The bag is hung so that the solution drips into your bloodstream gradually.

You have nothing to do but sit back and relax. A staff member monitors your IV to ensure that it continues to administer your nutrients properly. Your IV therapy can take effect within minutes of being administered. The entire process takes about an hour, and most patients are able to resume normal activities after their IV therapy.

The effects of IV therapy on chronic pain

The nutrients you receive in your IV therapy will depend on the type of chronic pain you’re experiencing. For example, if inflammation is causing your pain, your IV therapy may include nutrients that will work to boost your immune system, heal the affected areas, and reduce inflammation. Or if you have muscle damage, magnesium or other nutrients may be used to encourage regrowth in these areas.

Unlike pain medication, IV therapy isn’t addictive. You don’t risk becoming conditioned to the nutrients in IV therapy and requiring higher doses, an effect that can occur with pain medication. IV therapy can be used for any type of chronic pain, whether it’s due to an injury, a chronic disease, a nervous system dysfunction, or an autoimmune disorder.