Chronic Back Pain

Successful Treatment of Chronic Back Pain and Spinal Injuries

If you are suffering from debilitating pain caused by a chronic back injury or chronic spinal condition, look to M.I.S.S. for essential help. Our team of board certified specialists uses a wide range of minimally invasive treatments to relieve your chronic back pain and help you reclaim your active life - usually without the need for invasive, major spinal surgery.

Conditions we commonly treat

• Discogenic pain - Pain arising from the discs themselves
• Pain from pinched, irritated or injured nerve roots
• Lumber, thoracic & cervical pain with sciatic pain down one or both legs
• Facet joint syndrome - Pain from arthritis or injury of the joints
  that hold the spine in alignment
• Spinal stenosis - Pain from compression of the nerves of the spine
• Post-surgical failed back syndrome - When severe pain continues long after the body has healed from surgery

Our advantage is our full range of minimally invasive spinal treatments for chronic back pain

Epidural Steroid Injections - These are highly effective for patients when delivered in a precise manner onto an irritated and/or inflamed nerve in a particular section of the back or neck. Using state-of-the-art fluoroscopic x-ray guidance, your specialist carefully injects a long-acting steroid into the exact location that is causing the pain. With this non-invasive, non-surgical technique, patients experience immediate relief with virtually no recovery time. Patients are allowed to return to work the next day.

Intradiscal Procedures - These treatments are designed to repair damaged spinal discs, thereby providing signifi-cant relief for even severe and chronic pain.

Percutaneous Discectomy - When patients have a herniated spinal disc affecting a nerve root, the herniated portion of the disc is gently removed with a small instrument inserted under the skin using advanced fluoroscopic x-ray guidance. This outpatient procedure takes just 1-2 hours. This is an outpatient procedure which allows patients to receive dramatic pain relief and return to normal activities in a couple of days.

Percutaneous Disc Decompression Catheter - This procedure is effective for patients who have a herniated disc or an annular tear in a location that can't be reached with percutaneous discectomy. A small catheter is used to generate radiofrequency waves and virtually "shrink" the disc wall to bring it away from the nerve root. The result is significant, long lasting relief for the right patient. Our specialists can advise you if you're a good candidate.

Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation - If a particular joint in your back is causing your pain, your specialist can use this procedure to "turn off" the nerve associated with that joint and virtually eliminate your pain. This minimally invasive technique takes less than an hour to perform and effectively "turns off" the nerve for 1-2 years. When patients combine this with a successful strengthening and rehabilitation program, it can often prevent them from needing the procedure again.

Vertebroplasty - This treatment is a breakthrough for patients who have osteoporosis and have suffered a debilitating vertebral compression fracture in the spine. Under fluoroscopic x-ray guidance using local anesthesia, a small amount of acrylic bone cement is injected inside the vertebrae to stabilize the damaged area. Once this cement hardens (in about an hour and a half), patients experience dramatic and permanent pain relief and can resume their normal daily activities within just 2 days.

Spinal Cord Neurostimulation - If you have undergone several spinal surgeries and still suffer from severe, chronic pain, neurostimulation may provide you with essential relief. During a brief procedure, electrodes are implanted under the skin and behind the spinal cord. A battery-operated pulse generator sends electrical impulses to these electrodes that literally blocks the pain signal coming from the damaged disc, or nerve and sends new signals that the brain identifies as pleasurable. This innovative method can often eliminate the need for more back surgery and the pain and lengthy recovery time it requires.