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Minimally Invasive Interventional Treatments
for Spinal Pain
The Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago specialize
in the treatment of acute and chronic pain conditions. The field
of interventional pain management has evolved substantially over
the past decade. This is primarily due to the increased ability
of physicians who specialize in interventional pain management to
pinpoint the cause of spinal pain through the use of MRI's and the
performance of diagnostic injections and nerve blocks. This has
expanded the ability of interventional pain physicians to safely
and effectively treat lower back and neck pain with minimally invasive
procedures. Some of the more common treatments performed by the
doctors at the Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago are listed to
the left of this page.
The most common pain complaints encountered are related to the spine.
The sources of spinal pain are now well known through the research
of the last few decades. The spinal canal is formed by individual
bones called vertebra. These vertebra protect the spinal cord and
the nerves that exit the spinal cord through openings between the
vertebra. These vertebra articulate, or meet, eachother at three
distinct joints which allow movement. The disc joints are found
just in front of the spinal cord and the paired facet joints are
found behind the spinal cord. It is these joints which are subjected
to constant wear and tear, stress and strain, with daily living
and which are effected by the normal aging changes associated with
all joints (degenerative osteoarthritis). These are joints which
can become injured or inflamed and which can cause chronic pain.
Derangements of these joints can also cause pressure or inflammation
of the spinal cord or exiting nerves causing extremity pain as well
(often called sciatica in the leg).
The treatments which can alleviate spinal pain are directed at these
joints or at the small nerves through which the pain travels from
these joints back to the spinal cord on the way to the brain. Utilizing
live x-ray, or fluoroscopy, pain management physicians are able
to reduce pain from involved spinal joints through injections of
minute amounts of steroids directly into or adjacent to the joints
felt to be the source of pain. If these are ineffective or do not
give prolonged relief, the pain can be reduced through injections
of local anesthetic and steroid on the nerves through which the
pain is travelling to the spinal cord. If prolonged pain relief
is not achieved in this manner, these injections, or nerve blocks,
also serve to predict the ability of the pain physician to obtain
long term relief utilizing methods which stop these nerves from
functioning through the application of heat in a very safe and controlled
manner. All of these pain relieving treatments have the advantage
of having excellent risk/benefit ratios (risk being minimal while
the chance of benefit is excellent). Another distinct benefit of
these treatments is the ability of the pain management physician
to safely repeat the treatment in the future if prolonged relief
is obtained. - view animation
Our corporate partners in Interventional Pain Management
Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc
http://www.ans-medical.com
Advanced Bionics
http://www.controlyourpain.com
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