We Offer the Latest Therapeutic and Diagnostic Therapies. We Can Help.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression ("MILD")

A new minimally invasive treatment for pain relief from symptomatic chronic low back and leg pain. The procedure involves limited percutaneous laminotomy and thinning of the ligamentum flavum in order to increase the critical diameter of the spinal canal. You may not need surgery. This minimally invasive treatment can be done in an outpatient setting. (Read more at the National Institute of Health.)

Spinal Cord Stimulation

A spinal cord stimulator is a device placed under your skin and into your epidural space to send a mild electric current to your spinal cord. A small wire carries the current from a pulse generator to the nerve fibers of the spinal cord. When turned on, the stimulation feels like a mild tingling in the area where pain is felt. Your pain is reduced because the electrical current interrupts the pain signal from reaching your brain. You can envision a "pacemaker" for the spine. 

Percutaneous Discectomy

A straightforward, minimally invasive procedure that is an alternative to surgery for patients with debilitating radicular pain from disc herniations. The procedure can be done under local anesthesia, with or without sedation. The procedure removes material from inside the target disc to reduce or entirely relieve the patient's pain symptoms.

Ultrasound-Guided Joint Injection

A common and useful treatment for synovitis (inflammation of the lining of the joint). An injectintion of corticosteroid and/or a local anesthetic medication directly into the joint or the protective sac next to a joint (the bursa) can reduce the inflammation and provide pain relief. This procedure is most often used in the shoulder, knee, or hip but may also be helpful in other joints.

Sympathetic Ganglion Blocks

Focus on relief for the sympathetic nerves that go to the arms, and, to some degree, the sympathetic nerves that go to the face. This may reduce pain, swelling, color and sweating changes in the upper extremity and may improve mobility. It is done as a part of the treatment of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), Sympathetic Maintained Pain, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Herpes Zoster (shingles).

Lumbar Sympathetic Block

An injection of local anesthetic around the sympathetic nerves of the lower half of the body. These nerves control basic functions like regulating blood flow. In certain conditions, these sympathetic nerves can carry pain information from the peripheral tissues back to the spinal cord.

A lumbar sympathetic block is performed to block the sympathetic nerves that go to the leg on the same side as the injection. This may in turn reduce pain, swelling, color, sweating and other unusual changes in the lower extremity and may improve mobility. It is done as a part of the treatment of Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), Sympathetic Maintained Pain, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and Herpes Zoster (shingles) involving the legs. Certain patients with neuropathy or peripheral vascular disease may also benefit from lumbar sympathetic blocks.

Cancer Pain

Your oncologist may suggest that you consult a Pain Specialist. This does not mean that your cancer is progressing. It typically means your oncologists wants you to enjoy your life more and hurt less during the treatment process. Your individual situation will determine your treatment.

 

 

Facet Injections

The spine is a complex structure that contains joints that run up and down your back and neck. These joints are what allow certain segments of your spine to twist (the neck and mid-back), and other segments to only flex and extend forward and backward (low back).

These joints can be injured in trauma, or become arthritic from simple loading, wear and tear over decades. The end result for many patients is back and neck pain. This pain may be accompanied by stiffness and limitations in range of motion. The pain is most easily provoked by loading the facet joints. You do this by bending backward and twisting, or tilting the head back and twisting. Targeted injections into these joints can provide relief. You may feel relief immediately: some patients go directly from the office to their chiropractor for a same day treatment. 

Epidural Steroid Injections

The most common treatment option for neck pain or low back pain. The goal of the injection is pain relief. While the effect is often temporary, most patients experience relief for months, sometimes up to one year. These injections are often are what a patient needs to progress with a rehabilitative stretching and exercise program. These injections can be done in the office, usually in the context of a normal office visit. 

Nerve Root Blocks

Injections of local anesthetic and/or steroid injected under X-ray guidance into the area where the nerve exits the spinal column. A nerve root block is often best for pain in the arm or leg that follows the path of a single nerve. A nerve root block may be diagnostic (a test to determine the source of your pain) and/or therapeutic (to relieve your pain). Many patients experience sustained pain relief from the injection. Sometimes the block is done to help identify whether or not surgery might be helpful and at what level such surgery might be most helpful.

ransforaminal Epidural Injections

Commonly given to patients with leg and/or back pain to provide pain relief and improve mobility without surgery. This is a common and usually successful treatment for patients with large disc herniations, foraminal stenosis, and lateral disc herniations. Treatment may be done in the office, with local anesthetic. Your spine surgeon may request this procedure for diagnostic purposes. 

Discograms

A diagnostic procedures in which x-ray dye or contrast material is injected into the discs of the spine. After the x-ray dye is injected, an x-ray, called a discogram, is taken of the discs. The discogram may be normal or may show tears, fissures or other damage to the disc. The results of a discogram are used to plan treatment of the disc itself. A discogram is typically done to answer two questions: "Is my back pain or neck pain directly caused by a degenerated or damaged disc?" and "Which discs are causing my pain?" A discogram will not treat a damaged disc; it is a test, not a treatment. Treatment will be determined by the findings of the discogram. Your spine surgeon may want you to have a discogram as part of your surgical planning.