Pain Management

Epidural steroid injections are nonsurgical treatments for low back (lumbar) pain, upper back (thoracic) pain, and neck (cervical) pain. During an epidural, medication is injected near the painful area of the spine. Your condition may require a series of lumbar epidural injections, thoracic epidural injections, or cervical epidural injections to ease your neck or back pain and inflammation.

Facet joint injections are nonsurgical treatments to relieve pain and inflammation of the facet joints (located at the top and bottom of each vertebra) in the spine. During a facet joint injection, medication is injected into the facet joint capsule or surrounding tissue.

A nerve block involves delivering medication to the nerve suspected of being the source of your pain. Nerve blocks can be used therapeutically (offering immediate pain relief for a set period of time) as well as diagnostically (to identify the correct nerve).

If the nerve block relieves your pain, then your doctor can proceed with treatment, which may include additional injections of medication or surgery.

Peripheral joint injections are administered within the joints of the shoulder, elbow, hip, and knee. Pain in these joints may be caused by bursitis, tendonitis, or arthritis.

The sacroiliac joints connect the sacrum, which is located at the end of the spine, to the two large pelvic bones (the iliac bones). Sacroiliac joint injections are given to reduce inflammation that is causing pain in the buttocks, thigh, groin, or hip joint.

Spinal cord stimulation is another technique that can be performed for the relief of chronic back pain. It involves implanting a small wire under the skin. The wire is connected to a power source that transmits low-level electrical impulses to the spinal cord or specific nerves to block pain signals from reaching the brain.

Trigger point injections are used to treat knots of tight muscles in many areas of the body. Trigger points are tight bands of muscle that are sensitive to touch. The trigger point can irritate surrounding nerves and cause referred pain, a type of pain that radiates to nearby areas. Trigger points can result in migraine headaches as well as pain in the neck, back, and shoulders.

Ultrasound is a type of noninvasive diagnostic imaging that involves the use of a handheld device that sends sound waves into the body to provide an image of internal tissues.

At Advanced Bone & Joint, our orthopedic specialists use it primarily to guide pain management injections and other therapies. UItrasound allows the medication to be delivered precisely where it is needed to bring you relief from your pain and other symptoms.