Pain management services are offered for conditions ranging from headaches to neck and back pain, to chronic pain and spasms. Our services go beyond pain management and include a comprehensive approach to diagnosing the problem and creating an individualized treatment program including arranging for surgery if necessary. From diagnosis through treatment, we tailor the intervention to meet your needs, and we coordinate everything necessary for your treatment.
Epidurals
An epidural injection is a common procedure to treat spinal nerve irritation that is caused by tissues next to the nerve pressing against it. The beginning of the nerve (nerve root) is most often irritated by an inflamed intervertebral disc, or disc contents, directly touching the spinal nerve.
Facet Joint Injections
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. A cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back) or lumbar (lower back) facet joint injection involves injecting a steroid medication, which can anesthetize the facet joints and block the pain. The pain relief from a facet joint injection is intended to help a patient better tolerate a physical therapy routine to rehabilitate his or her injury or back condition. Facet joint injections usually have two goals: to help diagnose the cause and location of pain and also to provide pain relief.
Radiofrequency ablation
Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA) is a procedure used to reduce pain. An electrical current produced by a radio wave is used to heat up a small area of nerve tissue, thereby decreasing pain signals from that specific area.
Nerve block
A nerve block is an anesthetic or anti-inflammatory injection targeted toward a certain nerve or group of nerves to treat pain. The purpose of the injection is to “turn off” a pain signal coming from a specific location in the body or to decrease inflammation in that area. Imaging guidance, such as fluoroscopy or computed tomography (CT or “CAT” scan), may be used to help the doctor place the needle in exactly the right location so that the patient can receive maximum benefit from the injection.
Trigger point injection (TPI)
Trigger point injection (TPI) is a procedure used to treat painful areas of muscle that contain trigger points, or knots of muscle that form when muscles do not relax. Many times, such knots can be felt under the skin. Trigger points may irritate the nerves around them and cause referred pain, or pain that is felt in another part of the body. In the TPI procedure, a health care professional inserts a small needle into the patient’s trigger point. The injection contains a local anesthetic that sometimes includes a corticosteroid. With the injection, the trigger point is made inactive and the pain is alleviated. Usually, a brief course of treatment will result in sustained relief.