Exploring Ketamine Therapy for Chronic Pain: Benefits, Safety, and the Healing Journey

Living with chronic pain means dealing with discomfort that sticks around long after healing should have occurred. It affects 20% of adults globally, with older adults bearing the heaviest burden. This ongoing pain doesn't just hurt physically—it chips away at your quality of life, drains you emotionally, and limits what you can do day-to-day.

When standard treatments don't provide relief, ketamine therapy for chronic pain offers a different approach. It works by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors—the pathways that transmit pain signals in your brain.

A systematic review found that ketamine infusions can provide significant short-term pain relief for CRPS patients, with about 69% experiencing immediate improvement and 58% maintaining relief at 1–3 months post-treatment.

Finding Relief from Chronic Pain: How Ketamine Therapy Can Help

Chronic pain isn’t always visible, which makes it harder for others to understand—and harder for you to get the support you need. Many people face long waits for treatment, inconsistent care, or feel dismissed by healthcare providers. For older adults especially, it often leads to isolation and a sense of being left to manage it alone.

When traditional treatments don’t bring the relief you deserve, ketamine therapy offers a new path forward. 

By targeting NMDA receptors in the brain—key players in how we experience pain—ketamine can help reset the nervous system and bring relief for conditions like fibromyalgia, CRPS, and nerve pain. Many people also experience a welcome lift in mood, making it a powerful option for those facing both physical and emotional strain.

What Makes Chronic Pain So Challenging to Treat?

Chronic pain changes how your nervous system functions in several key ways. Central Sensitization turns up your pain "volume knob," making even mild sensations feel painful. The Wind-up Phenomenon amplifies pain signals in your spinal cord. Through Neuroplasticity, your brain creates pain pathways that persist even when the original injury heals.

Different types of pain require different treatment approaches:

• Nociceptive Pain is the standard pain from injured tissues, like a sprained ankle. 
• Neuropathic Pain comes from damaged nerves and is often described as burning or electric.
• Nociplastic Pain occurs without obvious tissue damage, as seen in fibromyalgia.

The pain-depression connection makes everything harder. A recent JAMA Network Open study found that improvements in depression accounted for nearly two-thirds (64.6%) of pain reduction during ketamine therapy.

Traditional treatments have significant drawbacks. Opioids work initially but can actually increase sensitivity with long-term use. NSAIDs don't work well for nerve pain and cause stomach and heart problems with extended use. Nerve Blocks often provide only temporary relief.

A 2024 study in Frontiers in Pain Research surveyed chronic pain patients and found that a significant portion reported low levels of relief from their current treatments. Participants rated their pain relief on a scale from 0% (no relief) to 100% (complete relief), with many indicating minimal benefit.

How Ketamine Therapy Works—And Why It's Different

Ketamine therapy takes a different approach than standard pain medications. It blocks pain signals by interrupting how pain messages travel through your central nervous system. Many people experience relief within hours instead of waiting weeks. It also promotes neuroplasticity, helping your brain create new connections that bypass pain circuits.

Ketamine also tackles the psychological side of pain by boosting mood-enhancing brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine and reducing anxiety that often amplifies pain perception.

You can receive ketamine in different ways: IV Infusion provides precise dosing with immediate effects, while At-Home Options offer supervised therapy that fits into your life.

Ketamine offers some clear advantages. It can reduce the need for opioids, breaks the frustrating pain-depression cycle, and works on multiple brain chemical systems at once.

The Pain Specialty Group emphasizes the importance of combining ketamine infusion therapy with other treatments, including physical therapy and psychological support, to manage chronic pain and depression effectively.

Why Ketamine Therapy May Help With Chronic Pain

Ketamine tackles chronic pain by dialing down the heightened pain sensitivity in your nervous system, disrupting the process that makes temporary pain become chronic, and adjusting brain chemicals to improve both pain perception and mood.

Research shows ketamine works particularly well for neuropathic pain (nerve pain), Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, fibromyalgia, phantom limb pain, and chronic migraines.

The benefits of ketamine therapy include quick relief that often begins within hours, effectiveness when other treatments have failed, less reliance on opioid medications, help for depression that often accompanies chronic pain, and safety for breathing, unlike opioids that can suppress respiration.

There are some limitations to consider: 

• Effects may last weeks rather than months (requiring repeat treatments)
• People respond differently
• Side effects can include temporary dissociation and nausea.

What to Expect from a Ketamine Therapy Journey

Your ketamine therapy journey typically includes several phases. The initial consultation and screening involves a thorough review of your medical history, an assessment of your psychological well-being, and a detailed evaluation of your pain condition.

Before treatment, you'll receive a clear explanation of what will happen, including informed consent guidelines, help setting intentions for your treatment, and support addressing any concerns you might have.

During the experience, you'll likely experience altered awareness, might feel temporarily disconnected from your surroundings, and may notice your perception changing in interesting ways.

Integration and follow-up care includes discussions after your sessions, tracking your progress over time, and possibly incorporating guided meditations, which research shows can enhance mood.

Ongoing treatment usually consists of a series of initial treatments followed by maintenance sessions, regular check-ins with your provider, and continuous monitoring of your response.

Healing Looks Different for Everyone—And That's Okay

When managing chronic pain, it's important to recognize there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Ketamine therapy might provide relief on its own, or it might work best as part of a comprehensive approach, which could include online EMDR therapy or other supportive treatments.

It's good to approach new treatments with hope, while keeping your expectations grounded in reality. Many patients experience meaningful improvements with ketamine therapy, though ongoing sessions may be necessary to maintain the benefits.

Find Relief with Ketamine Therapy for Chronic Pain Today

Living with chronic pain can feel like an endless battle, but ketamine therapy offers promising hope where traditional treatments have failed. Ketamine works differently than conventional pain medications by targeting the NMDA receptors, disrupting pain signals, promoting neuroplasticity, and addressing both the physical and psychological aspects of chronic pain.

This innovative approach has shown particular effectiveness for conditions like neuropathic pain, CRPS, fibromyalgia, and chronic migraines, with many patients experiencing relief within hours instead of weeks. The dual benefit of improving both pain and mood makes ketamine especially valuable for breaking the pain-depression cycle that traps so many chronic pain sufferers.

Innerwell's ketamine therapy provides medically-supervised treatment specifically designed for chronic pain conditions. Our comprehensive approach includes thorough screening, personalized treatment plans, and ongoing support to help you achieve lasting relief. Whether you're seeking alternatives to opioids or haven't found success with conventional treatments, our evidence-based protocols delivered by experienced healthcare providers can help you reclaim your quality of life.

Take the first step toward meaningful pain relief by completing Innerwell's free assessment today. Our team is ready to guide you through the process with compassion and clinical expertise, helping you determine if ketamine therapy is right for your unique situation.