Spine Pain Specialist

What is spine pain?

The spine is a complex system of vertebrae, discs, nerves, muscles, and connective tissues surrounding the spinal cord. All of these components make your spine vulnerable to injury and disease.

The spinal column splits into four regions: the neck area (cervical), upper and mid-back (thoracic), lower back (lumbar), and tailbone (sacral).

Spine pain, although often related directly to the spine itself, can also be a sign of another medical condition. If you don’t seek medical help, you could do more harm in the long run.

What causes spine pain?

Given all the intricate parts that make up the spine, there are many reasons you may have pain. These conditions include:

Disc damage

Spinal discs are natural shock absorbers that sit between each vertebra, but they are prone to damage from wear and tear or injury. Degenerated discs, bulging discs, and herniated discs all affect spinal health.

Spinal stenosis

Stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal canal. It causes pressure on the spinal nerves, causing pain and a variety of other symptoms, such as tingling and numbness.

Abnormal curvature

Your spine has curves that allow your body to balance properly. However, some conditions cause a curve to become too pronounced, twist, or develop an abnormal extra curve, all of which place your spine under additional stress.

Spinal instability

Spinal instability occurs when vertebrae slip out of their normal positions. This can cause pressure on nerves and create an imbalance in the spine.

Spinal fracture

Many people fracture their spine without even realizing it. It can occur through extreme force, like in a car accident, repeated stress or compression, or from normal movements when the bones are fragile due to osteoporosis.

How is spine pain treated?

When over-the-counter medication and prescription pain relievers fail to make any difference, Dr. Fiks offers a range of treatments for spine pain depending on your symptoms, their severity, and how long you’ve had them.

These treatments for spine pain include:

Spinal injections

Spinal injections diagnose and treat pain in the neck, upper and mid-back, and lower back and tailbone. Dr. Fiks offers facet joint injections, epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks, sacroiliac joint injections, radiofrequency ablation, and sympathetic nerve blocks.

Spinal decompression

Spinal decompression treats spinal stenosis. The procedure involves placing a small device between the vertebrae to hold them apart, which prevents them from pinching the nerves that cause your pain.

Spinal cord stimulation

Spinal cord stimulation delivers electrical pulses to the spinal nerve roots that run along the spinal cord. These pulses block pain signals sent from the spinal nerve roots so they can’t reach the brain.

Regenerative therapies

Regenerative therapies use concentrated forms of the body’s own healing resources to accelerate the cell regeneration process. Dr. Fiks offers MLS laser therapy, platelet-rich plasma therapy, and bone marrow concentrate therapy.

Dr. Fiks assesses the cause of your spine pain so he can treat the problem at the source using a combination of medical treatments and additional support in the form of complementary therapies, such as physical therapy.

Call Advanced Pain Management Center and make an appointment or book through the web inquiry form.