my 73 year old partner has chronic pain from an (operable, with a year wait list) back condition that affects his shoulder and legs. he has been reduced to being barely able to walk. he has tried hydro morph, fentanyl, and a host of other pain killers and none have had any effect on even reducing the level of his pain. in the past and for various conditions he has shown himself resistant to medications. an acupuncture treatment has been the only effective treatment so far but we live 1500 miles (southeast Yukon) from an acupuncturist. in Kelowna last year he was given an epidural and even that did not ease his pain. what other, if any, alternatives are there? we are getting desperate.
There are quite a long list of other therapies for the pain. The operation issue intrigues me because the shoulder and the back are not connected. And the shoulder if it is the part down below the neck is inside the chest and doesn't get much wear and tear. If it is at the neck, then neck disk disease is very, very common and almost always shows up on regular x-rays. BUT. Has nothing to do with back and legs in the vast majority. Back to pain management