Advanced Pain Medicine Institute
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Greenbelt, MD 20770
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More Pain Management & Rehabilitation Articles
Pain Caused By Herniated Discs
Pain accounts for 80% of all physician visits. Only 48% of pain patients felt that they were getting enough information on the most effective ways to manage their pain. Interventional pain physicians can help patients with back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as chronic trunk and limb pain, repetitive motion pain, chronic headache and migraine, arthritis, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome (RSD) and cancer pain.
When choosing a pain physician specialist, one should verify that the physician is certified by, or a member of, a pain related professional organization. The physician should have a board certification of a medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Specialties and also be a member of the Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP), the only organization that certifies the ability of a pain physician to perform procedures.
There are many causes for lower back pain and lumbar radiculopathy (sciatica). Some of these causes include
Lumbar strain
Degenerative disc disease
Facet joint disease
Herniated discs
Vertebral compression fracture
Spinal stenosis
Sacroiliac joint disease
Fibromyalgia
This article talks about the latest and cutting edge advanced techniques of treating lower back and leg pain caused by herniated discs.
Percutaneous disc decompression is a simple, innovative solution and an alternative to open back surgery following failed conservative treatments. It is shown to be safe and effective in clinical studies and proven to considerably reduce the pain intensity and improve functional status. It is an outpatient procedure using local anesthesia and sedation and it is correlated with low complication rates and fast recovery.
Compromised disc position can compress the spinal nerves that extend from the spine to the legs and cause pain and weakness in the back and legs.
Pain and weakness can limit patients daily activities. In these cases, the first line of treatment includes physical therapy along with analgesics and life style limitations. If the problem persists more than 3-4 weeks, the next line of treatment should include Epidural Steroid Injections under Fluoroscopic guidance for accurate delivery of medication to the affected spinal nerves. The steroid will reduce the inflammation of the spinal nerves and allow the herniated disc to heal itself. If a series of these injections provide temporary relief for the patient, the next step should include Minimally Invasive Disc Decompression using a small probe to aspirate the herniated portion of the disc in order to relive the pressure on the spinal nerves.
Minimally Invasive Disc Decompression causes minimal defect in the disc structure and only takes 10-15 minutes to perform and it has a rapid recovery time of only a few days.
Contraindications to Percutaneous Disc Decompression include traumatic spinal fracture, Infection, tumor and pregnancy, patients with extruded disc fragment within the spinal cord, severe spinal stenosis or severely degenerated disc disease and patients with severe and rapidly progressing neurological deficits.
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