Interventional Spine
Interventional spine care is a multidisciplinary branch of medicine focused on diagnosing the source of spine and musculoskeletal pain and employing nonsurgical treatments to effectively reduce or alleviate pain.
At Proliance Surgeons Skagit Northwest Orthopedics, our interventional spine specialists are dedicated to helping patients who suffer ongoing pain and discomfort from conditions such as low back pain, muscle pain, shingles, sciatica, complex regional pain syndrome, and various spine and other general musculoskeletal conditions, including sports-related injuries.
Conditions Interventional Spine Medicine Treats
The practice of interventional spinal care employs a wide range of treatment methods because the pain experienced can vary from mild to excruciating, episodic to continuous, and can be inconvenient to completely incapacitating.
Common sources of pain that interventional spinal specialists treat include:
- Herniated Discs: When the soft inner material of a spinal disc protrudes through the tough outer layer, it can compress nearby nerves, causing pain, numbness, or weakness.
- Spinal Stenosis: This condition involves the narrowing of the spinal canal or nerve root canals, leading to compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots. It often causes pain, numbness, or weakness.
- Degenerative Disc Disease: This condition involves the breakdown of spinal discs due to aging, wear and tear, or injury, leading to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility.
- Facet Joint Syndrome: Facet joints are small joints located between each vertebra in the spine. When these joints become inflamed or irritated, it can cause localized pain and stiffness, often aggravated by movement.
- Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction: The sacroiliac joints connect the sacrum (the triangular bone at the base of the spine) to the pelvis. Dysfunction or inflammation in these joints can cause lower back pain and buttock pain, often worsened with sitting, standing, or walking.
- Sciatica: Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down the back of each leg. It is commonly caused by compression or irritation of the nerve roots in the lumbar spine.
- Compression Fractures: Compression fractures occur when a vertebra collapses or becomes compressed, often due to osteoporosis or trauma. These fractures can cause sudden onset of severe back pain and may lead to loss of height or curvature in the spine.
- Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: Some patients continue to experience persistent pain or develop new pain following spinal surgery.
Pain has many forms and classifications—from mild to severe, sharp to dull, sporadic to perpetual. Because pain can be generated from any number of injuries and/or conditions, specialists employ a wide range of treatment methods. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis of the source of your pain is an imperative prerequisite to determining a course of treatment.
Common Interventional Spinal Procedures
There are several surgical and non-surgical treatment options within interventional spine medicine, treating conditions like sciatica, herniated discs, lumbar stenosis, and others.
Common nonsurgical treatments include:
- Epidural Steroid Injections (ESI): These injections deliver steroids directly into the epidural space around the spinal cord and nerve roots to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain associated with conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or radiculopathy.
- Facet Joint Injections: Facet joints are small joints located between each vertebra in the spine. Injections into these joints can provide relief from pain caused by arthritis or mechanical stress.
- Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) or Rhizotomy: This procedure uses heat generated by radio waves to disrupt nerve function in specific areas of the spine, particularly in the facet joints or along the nerves responsible for transmitting pain signals.
- Medial Branch Blocks: Similar to facet joint injections, medial branch blocks target the nerves that supply the facet joints. These injections can help diagnose the source of pain and provide temporary relief.
- Sacroiliac Joint Injections: Injections into the sacroiliac joint, located at the base of the spine where the sacrum meets the ilium, can help alleviate pain caused by inflammation or dysfunction in this area.
- Trigger Point Injections: These injections target specific areas of muscle spasm or tension along the spine, providing relief from localized pain and improving range of motion.
- Intradiscal Procedures: Techniques such as intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) or intradiscal biacuplasty involve applying heat or energy directly to the intervertebral disc to reduce pain and promote healing.
- Pulsed Radiofrequency Therapy: This newer technique involves applying pulsed radiofrequency energy to nerves associated with chronic pain, providing relief without damaging surrounding tissue.
- Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS): SCS involves implanting a device that delivers electrical impulses to the spinal cord, interfering with pain signals and providing relief for chronic pain conditions.
- Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty: These minimally invasive procedures involve injecting bone cement into fractured vertebrae to stabilize the spine and alleviate pain caused by compression fractures.
Interventional spine medicine primarily focuses on nonsurgical treatments for spinal pain and related conditions. However, there are some cases where minimally invasive surgical techniques are necessary:
- Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD): This procedure involves removing small portions of bone and tissue to relieve pressure on spinal nerves in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.
- Lumbar Microdiscectomy: While technically a surgical procedure, microdiscectomy is minimally invasive and involves removing a portion of a herniated disc to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves.
- Percutaneous Discectomy: This minimally invasive procedure involves removing portions of a herniated disc using specialized tools inserted through a small incision.
- Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty: These procedures involve injecting bone cement into fractured vertebrae to stabilize the spine and alleviate pain caused by compression fractures.
- Spinal Cord Stimulator Implantation: While primarily nonsurgical in nature, the implantation of a spinal cord stimulator involves a minor surgical procedure to place the device under the skin and connect it to leads that deliver electrical impulses to the spinal cord.
These procedures involve surgical techniques, but they are considered minimally invasive and typically have shorter recovery times with lower risks compared to traditional open spine surgery.
Why Choose Proliance Surgeons Skagit Northwest Orthopedic Specialists?
At Proliance Surgeons Skagit Northwest Orthopedics, our interventional spine doctors are experts in this nonsurgical field of medicine. Because of their extensive education and training, Dr. Jimmy Cui, and Dr. Herbie Yung are able to offer conservative alternatives for several injuries and conditions that typically require invasive treatment methods.
To consult with a surgeon at Proliance Surgeons Skagit Northwest Orthopedics, please request an appointment online or call (360) 424-7041.
