An epidural injection delivers steroids into the epidural space around spinal nerve roots to relieve pain – back pain, leg pain, or other pain – caused by irritated spinal nerves. The steroid used in the epidural steroid injection reduces the inflammation of those nerves, which is often the source of the pain.
Facet joints are small joints at each segment of the spine that provide stability and help guide motion. The facet joints can become painful due to arthritis of the spine, a back injury, or mechanical stress to the back.
Medial branch nerves are small nerves that feed out from the facet joints in the spine and carry pain signals from the facet joints to the brain. A medial branch nerve block is a procedure in which an anesthetic is injected near small medial nerves connected to a specific facet joint. Typically several levels of the spine are injected in one procedure. If the patient experiences marked pain relief immediately after the injection, then the facet joint is determined to be the source of the patient’s pain.
The procedure is primarily diagnostic, meaning that if the patient has the appropriate duration of pain relief after the medial branch nerve block, then the patient may be a candidate for a subsequent procedure – called a medial branch radiofrequency ablation – for longer term pain relief.
A selective nerve root block (SNRB), is primarily used to diagnose the specific source of nerve root pain and, secondarily, for therapeutic relief of low back pain and/or leg pain
A sympathetic block typically involves a series of injections to relieve leg pain (sciatica) caused by complex regional pain syndromes, usually after injury to a joint or limb.
Is primarily used either to diagnose or treat low back pain and/or sciatica symptoms associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
This injection procedure a needle with a probe is inserted just outside the joint. The probe is then heated with radio waves and applied to the sensory nerve to the joint in order to disable the nerve.
(Or pain pump) – Delivers pain medication directly to the intrathecal space around the spinal cord via an implanted pump. The pump is implanted during a surgical procedure, and medication in the pump is added periodically (e.g. monthly) by injecting medication through the skin into the pump reservoir.
When oral medications and/or nerve blocks do not sufficiently control the pain, advanced pain therapies or implantable systems may be effective for treating neuropathy. These systems are designed to interrupt transmission of pain signals from the spinal cord to the brain. If the pain signals do not reach the brain, then the patient does not actually feel the pain.
a) Dorsal Column Stimulator (DCS) or Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) for pain control introduces low levels of electrical current to the dorsal portion of the spinal cord to block the sensation of pain. The device is implanted during a surgical procedure, and may include a fully implanted system or a system with an external power source.
A discography (discogram) is a test to determine the anatomical source of lower back pain for the patient. This procedure is most frequently used to determine if degenerative disc disease is the cause of a patient’s pain (discogenic low back pain). Discograms may also be performed to assist in preoperative planning for candidates for a lumbar spinal fusion.
The goals of a kyphoplasty surgical procedure are designed to stop the pain caused by a spinal compression fracture, to stabilize the bone, and to restore some or all of the lost vertebral body height due to the compression fracture. Prior to injecting the cement-like material used to heal the fracture, a special balloon is inserted and gently inflated inside the fractured vertebrae. The goal of this step is to restore height to the bone thus reducing deformity of the spine. Most patients return to their normal daily activities after either procedure.
mild® is a short, outpatient treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) that restores space in the spinal canal to help improve back and leg pain.* Using specialized tools and imaging, mild® addresses a major root cause of LSS by removing thickened ligament through an incision smaller than the size of baby aspirin, leaving no implants behind, only a Band-Aid.
– Suprascapular
– Occipital
– Ilio-inguinal
– Intercoastal
– Supratrochlear
– Supraorbital and Infraorbital Neuralgia
– Mental
– Trigeminal
– Genitofemoral
– Ilioinguinal
– Abdominal and Pelvic Procedures
– Treatments for Cancer Pain
– Celiac Plexus Block/Splanchnic Block
– Celiac Plexus Neurolysis
– Ganglion Impar Block
– Hypogastric Plexus Block
– Pudendal Nerve Block