Spinal Pain Management
Neck & Back Pain Relief
At The Spine Institute at Chatham Orthopaedic Associates, serving Savannah, Richmond Hill, Pooler and Rincon, our patients have access to a host of non-operative pain management treatments. A treatment plan is tailored to best fit the patient’s lifestyle. Not all back or neck conditions require surgery. In fact, many ailments can be treated with a conservative approach to pain management therapy.
Staffed with a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician who specializes in the management of non-operative spinal disorders, The Spine Institute can provide comprehensive management of spine conditions by offering diagnostic and therapeutic injections, electromyography and nerve conduction studies. Our pain management doctor works with the multidisciplinary team of orthopaedic surgeons and physician assistants, and may be involved in the diagnosis of a patient prior to surgery, as well as in the management of a condition following surgery.
Neck & Back Pain Treatment Options
Conservative Treatments
- Medications
- Topicals (Ice packs, heat, ointments, etc.)
- Orthotics (Back brace, corset, etc.)
- Core Exercises
- Massage
- Physical Therapy
- Modalities, including ultrasound, phonophoresis (ultrasound to apply drugs) and iontophoresis (a kind of electrical stimulation used to administer medication)
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
- Electrical Nerve or Spinal Cord Stimulation
- Traction
- Facet Joint Injections
- Trigger Point Injections
- Epidural Steroid Injections
Pain Management Injection Procedures
Steroid injections are a commonly prescribed treatment for numerous orthopaedic ailments, including many spinal disorders. When oral medications and/or physical therapy fail to improve a patient’s spinal condition and/or a patient has severe incapacitating pain, spinal injections can be a very effective treatment option. Depending on the type and location of the spinal problem, a small dose of steroid medicine can be injected under X-ray guidance into the right spot, often alleviating the pain and inflammation almost immediately.
There are different types of spinal injections. The most commonly prescribed spinal injection is an epidural steroid injection (ESI). Other types of steroid injections include facet joint injections, medial branch blocks, sacroiliac joint injections and impar ganglion blocks. A different type of steroid injection may be prescribed depending on the specific spinal disorder being treated.
Types of Steroid Injections of the Spine
- Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI) (Cervical)
- Epidural Steroid Injection (Lumbar)
- Translaminar ESI
- Transforaminal ESI
- Caudal ESI
- Selective nerve root block
- Facet Joint Injection
- Medial Branch Blocks
- Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation
- Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Injection
- Impar Ganglion Block
- Discogram
- Spinal Cord Stimulator
- Sympathetic Nerve Blocks
Epidural Steroid Injections
Epidural steroid injections are commonly prescribed for patients with a disc injury or spinal arthritis causing nerve irritation. Lidocaine is often injected to anesthetize the skin so patients experience minimal, if any, pain during the procedure. Then a mixture of corticosteroid, a steroid that reduces inflammation and pain, and a local anesthetic are injected. The procedure time is often less than 10 to 15 minutes.
Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection
Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injection
Facet Injections & Nerve Root Blocks
Facet injections and/nerve root blocks are prescribed for patients with severe facet joint arthritis or nerve inflammation. Sacroiliac and impar ganglion blocks are administered for patients with sacroilitis or coccydynia.
