PAIN TREATMENT OPTIONS

NECK AND ARM PAIN

A cervical inter-laminar epidural steroid injection is an outpatient procedure for treating neck, upper back, shoulder and arm pain. The cervical area of the spine has seven bones, called vertebrae. Soft discus found between these vertebrae cushion them, hold them together and control motion.

If the disc tears, chemicals inside may leak out. They can inflame nerve roots or the dura (the protective covering of the spinal cord and its nerves) and cause pain. A large disc tear may cause a disc to bulge, inflaming nerve roots or the dura and cause pain. Bone spurs, called osteophytes, can also press against nerve roots and cause pain.

If you have pain in your neck or upper back when you move your head or neck, you may have cervical disc and dural inflammation. If pain travels to your arm when you move your head or neck, you may have nerve root inflammation.

Common test such as a MRI can show disc bulges and nerve root compression, but may not show a torn and leaking disc. A cervical epidural steroid injection (anti-inflammatory medicine) may provide relief if disc problems, dural, or nerve root inammation are causing your pain.

HEADACHES/MIGRAINES

A greater occipital nerve block is an outpatient procedure for treating headaches.

The greater and lesser occipital nerves are located in the back of your head. They produce tenderness and headache at the base of your head. These nerves can be irritated from trauma or chronic upper neck pain. Unlike a migraine, occipital nerve pain does not respond to migraine medication. However it does decrease with a occipital nerve block.

In an occipital nerve block, a local anesthetic (numbing medicine) and a corticosteroid (an anti-inflammatory medicine) are injected near the greater occipital nerve and/or lessor occipital nerves. The anesthetic helps to temporarily numb pain and the steroid helps to reduce inflammation.

This injection can be used to diagnose or treat your pain. We specialize in determining what is the root cause of your headaches.

LUMBAR RADIO FREQUENCY ABLATION (RFA)

A lumbar (RFA) is an outpatient procedure for treating low back, buttock, hip and groin pain.

Facet joints connect the vertebrae, the bones of the spine, and help guide them when you move. The low back area of the spine, the lumbar region, contains five vertebrae with facet joints on both sides of the spine.

Medial branch nerves are found near facet joints and communicate pain. They tell the brain when the lower back has been injured, sometimes it feels like muscle tension, other times severe pain. Lumbar facet joint pain can occur in an area from your low back down to your buttocks, groin and hips.

If you have pain in one or more of these areas and it has lasted longer than two months you may have lumbar facet pain.

RFA uses radio frequency energy to disrupt nerves from transmitting pain from an injured facet joint. Nerves regenerate after an RFA, which varies per treatment. Your pain may or may not return when the nerves regenerate. If it does, another RFA can be done.