INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY & PAIN MANAGEMENT
PAIN MANAGEMENT OR SPINE SURGEON?
Often times, when individuals think about pain management, the first thing that comes to mind may be the use of pharmaceuticals. Our country has been ravaged by the over-prescription and abuse of opioids to treat chronic pain disorders. However, the practice of pain management paints a much broader picture.
At the Tampa Back Institute, we want to provide patients with the most comprehensive spine care available. Because chronic back and neck pain are so common in our community, this often times requires us to address issues through the eyes of a pain management specialist.
Though pain management and orthopedic spine surgery are two very different specialties, they do share some common overlap. Interventional radiology entails the use of imaging to administer medication. In short, injections guided by X-Rays.
We offer the following procedures:
This procedure involves delivering steroid, which acts as an anti-inflammatory, to the space surrounding the spine. By reducing inflammation and irritation of the spine, patients may receive significant pain relief. You may need to have up to three consecutive injections performed to receive full effect. However, more than a few injections a year may be discouraged. To learn more about epidural steroid injections click here.
For patients suffering from sacroiliac joint dysfunction (normally presenting as lower back pain), a sacroiliac joint steroid joint injection may prove to be beneficial. To read more about sacroiliac steroid injections click here.
This procedure places a temporary numbing medicine around the nerves in the spine. This is a diagnostic test which helps locate the source of pain. Patients whose symptoms improve after medial branch block will be offered a radio-frequency ablation. To read more about facet joint injection click here.
If a patient receives relief from a diagnostic facet joint injection, then they may be a candidate for a radiofrequency ablation, or RFA. This procedure involves placing a needle, which transmits radio-frequency energy, at the same joint space where the facet joint injection was administered. Which causes the nerves to become desensitized. Therefore, providing significant pain relief. This procedure takes approximately 5-10 minutes to perform. To read more about radiofrequency ablations click here.