Living with chronic pain isn’t just physically exhausting — it can take a serious toll on your mental health, daily routines, and overall quality of life. Whether you’re dealing with back pain, joint discomfort, nerve issues, or something else entirely, it’s easy to feel stuck, especially if you’re trying to avoid surgery.
Here’s the good news: Surgery isn’t your only option. In fact, many people find long-lasting relief with non- or minimally invasive therapies.
At the West Texas Pain Institute, Dr. Raul Lopez and our team specialize in effective, evidence-based treatments that don’t require going under the knife.
Let’s take a closer look at five nonsurgical treatments that may help you manage your chronic pain and get back to doing the things you love.
Physical therapy is often the first and best step in managing chronic pain. With the guidance of a trained physical therapist, you learn targeted exercises and movement techniques to reduce strain, build strength, and improve mobility.
Physical therapy is beneficial for:
It’s a long-term strategy that focuses on healing, not just symptom relief. And the more consistent you are, the better the results.
Epidural steroid injections are a go-to treatment for many types of chronic back, neck, or radiating nerve pain, especially when inflammation is involved. These injections deliver a powerful anti-inflammatory medication (usually a corticosteroid) directly into the epidural space around your spinal nerves.
We use them to treat:
The goal? Reduce inflammation, calm irritated nerves, and relieve pain.
Epidural injections aren’t a permanent fix, but they can provide relief that lasts weeks or even months. For many patients, they’re a crucial step in a broader pain management plan, often allowing people to move more comfortably, return to physical therapy, and avoid surgery altogether.
This minimally invasive procedure uses radiofrequency energy to disrupt pain signals by targeting specific nerves. We recommend it for:
Here’s how it works. We start by inserting a small needle near the affected nerve. Then, we deliver heat in the form of radiofrequency energy to “quiet” the pain signal. Relief can last anywhere from 9-12 months, depending on the individual — some have experienced pain relief for multiple years.
Regenerative therapies aim to heal damaged tissues rather than just mask pain. These cutting-edge treatments include platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell therapy.
PRP therapy uses your own blood components to promote healing, and stem cell therapy helps repair joint, tendon, or ligament damage.
These options are particularly popular among athletes and those with tendon injuries, early arthritis, or degenerative joint issues. While still emerging, many patients report long-term improvement after a series of treatments.
If you’re dealing with nerve-related pain, especially in conditions like sciatica, neuropathy, or complex regional pain syndrome, nerve stimulation may be a great option.
We specialize in spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, which involves placing a small device under the skin to deliver mild electrical pulses to specific nerves in your spine and around your body.
These pulses help “block” pain signals before they reach the brain, offering significant relief for many patients.
You’ll rarely find us prescribing one of our advanced therapies as a standalone treatment. In almost every treatment plan, we include one or more of the following.
Not all pain meds are opioids. Non-opioid options like NSAIDs, muscle relaxants, nerve pain medications (like gabapentin), or low-dose antidepressants can be effective in the right context.
Chronic pain and mental health are deeply connected. Working with a counselor or therapist (particularly someone familiar with pain psychology) can help you develop coping tools, manage stress, and avoid the cycle of pain and depression.
When it comes to managing chronic pain, your daily habits play a bigger role than you might think. While treatments like injections and nerve blocks target the source of pain, lifestyle and diet choices can help reduce inflammation, support healing, and prevent flare-ups.
We recommend:
It’s not about being perfect — it’s about creating small, sustainable changes that support your body’s healing process and make day-to-day life more manageable.
If you’re ready to explore your options, we’re here to help create a personalized plan that meets your needs, fits your lifestyle, and helps you get back to living.
You can schedule a consultation with our expert online or over the phone at our El Paso, Texas, office.
