Procedures

Epidural Injections are procedures done to help relieve neck, back and leg pain from degenerated, herniated and bulging discs of the spine which result in pinched nerves. These procedures are done under x-ray guidance which makes them very safe. With the x-ray guidance your physician will directly target the specific problem area of your spine based on your symptoms and MRI results.

A combination of local anesthetic numbing medicine and steroid is injected into the epidural space which is the outside of the spinal sac.

Radiofrequency Ablation is a procedure that uses special needles that uses radio wave technology to heat up a small area of nerve tissue and thereby block the pain signals from those nerves for a long period of time. This technique is typically done for isolated neck, mid back or low back pain due to arthritis of the joints of the spine.

A needle is used with ultrasound or x-ray guidance to inject medication around a single peripheral nerve that is thought to cause pain in a very specific area of the body.

Typically local anesthetic and steroid medication is used. If a nerve block procedure is shown to reduce pain but it is only short lived, other procedures can be done to target that same nerve and give longer lasting pain relief.

Trigger Point Injections are injections for painful areas of muscle tissue or “knots” that can occur in any muscle. Medication will be directly injected into the painful muscle tissues to help alleviate the pain.

A small needle is used to access the painful joint in the body under x-ray or ultrasound guidance. This ensures proper needle placement as opposed to traditional techniques without image guidance. Once the joint has been entered medication will be injected to help reduce the pain from the joint.

Typically either local anesthetic with steroid, a gel that mimics the natural lubrication of the joint or Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is injected. Many joints of the body can be injected but most common are the Sacroiliac joints, facet joints of the spine, shoulders, knees and hips.

These procedures are performed for certain pain syndromes that are thought to be originating from the sympathetic nervous system. Some examples include Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), Cancer pain, abdominal pain, pelvic pain and tailbone pain.

Bracing is the usage of supportive devices that offload painful areas of the body. Most commonly the low back and knees are treated with braces. This is a great conservative technique than can help in certain situations.