New York State Disability Insurance Terms

Acupuncture - The piercing of specific body sites with needles to produce pain relief.

Biofeedback - A process in which a person learns to influence reliably physiologic responses of two kinds: those that are not ordinarily under voluntary control or those that ordinarily are easily regulated but for which regulation has broken down because of trauma or disease.

Counter Stimulation- Application of moderate to intense sensory stimulation, such as with cold, heat, rubbing, pressure, or electrical current, so as to decrease perception of pain at the same or a distant site.

CT Scans - Special x-ray created by taking a picture of the portion of the body in cross section

Epidural - Situated within the spinal canal, on or outside the dura mater (tough membrane surrounding the spinal cord); synonyms are "peridural" and "extradural."

Lancinating - Characterized by piercing or stabbing sensations.

Local nerve block. Infiltration of a local anesthetic around a peripheral nerve so as to produce anesthesia in the area supplied by the nerve.

Movement-related pain - A type of breakthrough pain that is related to specific activity, such as eating, defecation, socializing, or walking. Also referred to as incident pain.

Myofascial pain - A large group of muscle disorder characterized by the presence of hypersensitive points, called trigger points, within one or more muscles and/or the investing connective tissue together with a syndrome of pain, stiffness, limitation of motion, weakness, muscle spasm, tenderness, and occasionally autonomic dysfunction.

Neurolytic block - The injection of a chemical agent to cause destruction and consequent prolonged interruption of peripheral somatic or sympathetic nerves, or in some cases, the neuraxis.

Neuropathic pain - Pain that results from a disturbance of function or pathologic change in a nerve; in one nerve mononeuropathy; in several nerves, mononeuropathy multiplex; if diffuse and bilateral, polyneuropathy.

Palliative therapy - A procedure such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery that is performed to relieve or ease pain.

Physical modalities - Therapeutic interventions that use physical methods, such as heat, cold, massage, or exercise, to relieve pain.

Progressive muscle relaxation - A cognitive-behavioral strategy in which muscles are alternately tensed and then relaxed in a systematic fashion.

Psychological dependence (addiction) - Pattern of compulsive drug use characterized by a continued craving for a drug and the need to use the drug for effects other than pain relief.

Psychosocial intervention - therapeutic process that uses cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, and supportive interventions to relieve pain. These include patient education, aiding in relaxation, psychotherapy, and structured and peer support.

Relaxation - A state of relative freedom from both anxiety and skeletal muscle tension.

TENS Unit - A method of producing electroanalgesia through electrodes applied to the skin.