This condition is a detereoration of the facet joints, which help stabilize the spine and limit excessive motion. The facet joints are lined with cartilage and surrounded by a lubricating capsule that enables the vertebrae to bend and twist.
Coccydynia
This condition is an inflammation of the tip of the tailbone, called the coccyx. It causes pain and tenderness between the buttocks.
Cervical Radiculopathy
This condition is an irritation or compression of one or more nerve roots in the cervical spine. Because these nerves travel to the shoulders, arms and hands, an injury in the cervical spine can cause symptoms in these areas. Cervical radiculopathy may result from a variety of problems with the bones and tissues of the cervical spinal column.
Thoracic Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy
This minimally-invasive procedure, also called radiofrequency (or RF) rhizotomy, reduces or eliminates the pain of damaged facet joints by disrupting the medial branch nerves that carry the pain signals. This procedure is performed with local anesthetic.
Thoracic Epidural Steroid Injection
This outpatient procedure is an injection performed to relieve pain in the upper back.
Stellate Ganglion Block
This injection can both diagnose and treat pain coming from the sympathetic nerves. It is a common treatment for shingles and complex regional pain syndromes affecting the head, face, neck, or arms. Usually a series of these injections is needed to treat the problem.
Sacroiliac Joint Steroid Injection
This injection procedure is performed to relieve pain caused by arthritis in the sacroiliac joint where the spine and hip bone meet. The steroid medication can reduce swelling and inflammation in the joint.
Medial Branch Block
This diagnostic procedure is performed to identify a painful facet joint. The facet joints are the joints between the vertebrae in the spine. They allow the spine to bend, flex and twist.
Lumbar Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. The steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions such as spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, sciatica and herniated discs.
Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. Steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions.
Intrathecal Pump Implant
An intrathecal pump relieves chronic pain. It uses small amounts of medicine applied directly to the intrathecal space (the area surrounding the spinal cord) to prevent pain signals from being perceived by the brain. Pump candidates include people for whom conservative treatments have failed and surgery is not likely to help.
Facet Joint Injections
Each vertebra in the spine is connected to the vertebra above and below it by facet joints, which are located on both sides of the rear of the spine. A facet joint block can be both diagnostic and therapeutic for back or neck pain. A facet joint block injection can confirm whether the facet joints are indeed the source of pain and can help relieve the pain and inflammation.
Cervical Selective Nerve Root Block
This injection relieves pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms caused by a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the cervical spine. It can be used to treat conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and radiculopathy.
Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Neurotomy
This minimally-invasive procedure, also called radiofrequency (or RF) rhizotomy, reduces or eliminates the pain of damaged facet joints by disrupting the medial branch nerves that carry the pain signals. This procedure is performed with local anesthetic.
Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection
This injection relieves pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms caused by a pinched nerve (or nerves) in the cervical spine. Conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or radiculopathy can compress nerves, causing inflammation and pain. The medication injected helps decrease the swelling of nerves.
Celiac Plexus Block
This procedure is performed to diagnose and reduce abdominal pain caused by conditions such as cancer or pancreatitis. An injection is used to block the nerves serving the abdomen. An intravenous (IV) line may be used to administer medication to relax the patient.
Caudal Steroid Injection
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. The steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions, such as spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, sciatica and herniated discs.
What is Pain Management?
Understanding Pain
Pain often has a negative effect on a person’s quality of life and could hinder recovery from surgery, injury or illness. Managing pain effectively and properly aids in the recovery and improves the person’s quality of life.
In America alone more than 86 million people suffer from pain every day and about 80% of American people will suffer from back pain at least once in their life. Pain in general and back pain specified is the most common reason for people to seek medical care. There are many causes of acute or chronic back pain such as back strain, spinal stenosis and osteoporosis. There are different types of pain and so there are many different aspects of pain management.
The source of pain can be from back injuries, car accidents, sports injuries, surgery or from health conditions such as arthritis, shingles, migraines and cancer. Sometimes, there is no apparent cause, injury or trauma that people can attribute to the source of their pain but working with a pain specialist can diagnose and manage your pain.
Mostly pain is classified in acute or chronic pain. The difference is that acute pain comes suddenly and often feels sharp or burning. In most cases acute pain can be resolved quickly but it shows that there is something wrong, which should be looked at. It is important to treat acute pain right away to prevent it from becoming chronic.
Causes of acute pain include:
- Broken bones (spinal vertebral fracture)
- Burns or cuts
- Certain diseases
- Dental work
- Labor and childbirth
- Soft tissue injury, such as whiplash
- Surgical pain (post-operative pain)
Chronic pain on the other hand is pain that lasts longer and doesn’t come suddenly. It is more difficult to treat because it takes a multi-disciplinary approach with various specialists included. Chronic pain can be very hard for the patient because it affects the patient on a physically and emotionally level.
Causes of chronic pain can include:
- Arthritis (osteoarthritis)
- Cancer
- Degenerative disc disease and other spinal disorders
- Nerve dysfunction (with or without nerve damage)
- Soft tissue injury, such as trauma from a fall or motor vehicle accident
- Unresolved disease or injury (psychogenic pain)
It is not always possible to categorize the pain in acute or chronic, sometimes pain can be a mix of both. However the treatments for acute or chronic pain is as diverse as the cause of the pain and the pain itself.
A pain management specialist is trained in determine the cause of pain and to understand how pain messages are sent to the central nervous system, including the spinal cord. The goal for pain specialists is to relieve the intensity and frequency of the patient’s pain so that the patient is able to participate in normal daily activities and exercise.
Lumbar Caudal Block
This injection procedure is performed to relieve low back and radiating leg pain. The steroid medication can reduce the swelling and inflammation caused by spinal conditions, such as spinal stenosis, radiculopathy, sciatica and herniated discs.