The Evolution of Spine Care

In the world of back pain and spine surgery, few options have existed for patients to consider regarding spine care. They could either live with the pain and undergo basic injections and take medication to ward off the symptoms, or they could pursue invasive fusion procedures with a mixed track record of long-term success. While these fusions are sometimes necessary to provide support and structure to an otherwise damaged spine, the last decade has seen tremendous leaps forward in the technology available to physicians, and consequently, in available alternative options for patients. More than anything else, these types of surgeries underpin just how few options have been available in the past.

Restore Medical Partners pain interventionists preach the minimum-to-maximum invasiveness scale; where the first step for the patient is always the less invasive therapies and then progressing upwards depending on the results of those therapies. This means starting with smaller steps, milder treatments, and more conservative measures, and gradually working up from there. In the past, this scale didn’t include many steps to speak of, but today that is simply no longer the case.

Physical Therapy & Adjunct Medication

The best long-term answer to any pain symptom or injury is always physical therapy, exercise, and diet. The first step in treating an injury or pain complaint is a well-structured physical therapy regimen designed to provide strengthening and body mechanics to overcome and correct painful symptoms. As with any well-rounded health regimen, regular diet and exercise also play a key role. Simply avoiding inflammatory foods such as high-sugar/corn syrup, excessive trans fats, oils, and carbohydrates, can make significant differences when it comes to pain.

Alongside this, adjunct medications (non-narcotics) play a role at this end of the scale. These medications include Gabapentin, designed to combat neuropathy (nerve pain), as well as anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen. Natural vitamins such as alpha-lipoic acid and magnesium can be useful supporting players in a healthy regimen to control pain.

Image-Guided Injections

The new-wave of targeted procedures employed by interventional pain specialists have filled the void when the steps above alone have proven inefficient on their own. This category includes epidural steroid injections (for nerve pain), radio-frequency procedures (for arthritic pain), and a host of other minimally-invasive needle-based solutions for chronic pain. Under the hands of skilled interventionalist, most patients can achieve significant results during this phase, and are redirected to step one once pain has been effectively controlled.

Spinal Cord Stimulation

For those who don’t achieve the results from the first two phases of the invasiveness-scale, spinal cord stimulation can provide significant benefit. Spinal cord stimulation or “SCS” technology has become an increasingly effective option in treating chronic pain. This medication-free approach works by providing an extremely small electrical charge in the form of a wave that works to interrupt the body’s pain signals as they are transmitted back to the brain. This interruption of signals helps to reduce pain levels for long-lasting results. Spinal cord stimulation is a rapidly-evolving field and represents the latest in technology designed to combat stubborn chronic pain.

Minimally-Invasive Spine Techniques

After failure of steps one through three, a surgical referral is typically considered. However, this doesn’t mean giving way to an invasive spinal surgery. New options exist to provide patients the benefits of surgical intervention without the issues that sometimes accompany it. Technological advances can now provide patients with decompression of the spine without the need for fusion utilizing small implantable devices that maintain range of motion, provide support, and don’t carry the same risks as open surgery, both during and after the procedure.

With these modalities and cutting-edge technologies available to today’s top pain management specialists, patients now have a plethora of options to consider that can create an environment of appropriate treatment and superior long-term results. If you are seeking better options for your care of the care of a loved one, speak to your doctor, a board-certified pain management specialist at Restore Medical Partners might be the answer you’ve been seeking.