UPPER BACK / THORACIC | PROCEDURES
Facet Joint Injections
The facet joints, found on both sides of the back of the spine, can become painfully irritated or inflamed. A facet joint injection may help diagnose the source of a patient’s pain and can also relieve pain and inflammation.
Watch this video.
Kyphoplasty (Balloon Vertebroplasty)
Kyphoplasty is an outpatient procedure used to treat a compression fracture in the spine, caused by osteoporosis, which can result in pain, restriction of mobility, height loss and spinal deformity. This minimally invasive, image-guided procedure is intended to relieve pain, stabilize the vertebra and restore the spine to its natural shape and height. Watch this video.
Medial Branch Block
This minimally invasive procedure involves an image-guided injection of numbing medicine that bathes the medial branch nerves, which attach to the facet joints of your spine. These nerves hurt when facet joints are injured or diseased. The injection helps find the source of your pain, and it may relieve your pain for a brief time. You may be asked to track your pain level as the medicine wears off. If the block was successful, your doctor can recommend a procedure to provide long-lasting relief. Watch this video.
Radiofrequency Neurotomy of the Thoracic Facets
During this minimally-invasive procedure, the physician uses heat from radio waves to treat painful facet joints in your upper back. Also called radiofrequency rhizotomy, this procedure can treat pain that doesn’t respond to medications or to physical therapy. Watch this video.
Regenerative Medicine
If you suffer from joint, tendon, ligament, back, neck or pelvic pain, you may be a candidate for regenerative medicine. Regenerative medicine is an exciting scientific and medical discipline that focuses on tapping into the regenerative capacity of the body to restore the functioning of damaged cells, tissues and organs. Learn more about the various types of regenerative medicine.
Thoracic Epidural Steroid Injection
This outpatient procedure is a minimally invasive, image-guided injection performed to relieve pain in the upper back. A steroid-anesthetic mixture bathes the painful areas with soothing medication. Most patients find relief within 3 to 5 days following the procedure but may require up to three injections. Watch this video.
Trigger Point Injections
This outpatient procedure is designed to reduce or relieve the pain of trigger points, where small, tender knots form in muscles or in the fascia (the soft, stretchy connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs). A trigger point injection procedure takes only a few minutes to complete. Watch this video.
