OUR PROCEDURES

Treating Your Pain for Lasting Relief

family running through a field living pain free

Our physicians treat acute pain that could become chronic pain by performing procedures to assist with the patient’s pain control. Those patients with inflammatory conditions, disc degeneration, fibromyalgia, arthritis, complex regional pain syndrome, neuropathy, and others can have an injection to a series of injections. Depending on the patient’s presentation, less invasive procedures could be done to alleviate pain. If pain is not successfully relieved, other options are available.

Our physicians may use additional modalities such as physical therapy, chiropractic care, and DME such as temporary back braces to assist in getting patients comfortable and back to an active lifestyle.

Procedures can range from:

  • Joint injections (shoulder, hip, knee, facet)

  • Nerve blocks such as sympathetic nerve block

  • Diagnostic blocks to see if the pain is better controlled

  • Radiofrequency thermocoagulation of nerves, and others.

  • Dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord stimulation

  • Superion implant

  • Regenerative Medicine treatment solutions

  • Intrathecal pain pumps

  • Sacroiliac joint fusion

  • Epidural steroid injections

  • Facet injections & facet medial branch ablation

Innovative Interventional Procedures

Neuromodulation

Neuromodulation is a treatment that can be used that employs mild electrical impulses to block nerve signals that carry pain signals to the brain. By targeting the nerves in the spine, the pain you are experiencing in the back, arms, legs and other areas can be controlled or relieved.

For headache and migraine relief, when other medications and modalities fail, neuromodulation can be a successful option for pain relief.

Superion Interspinous Spacer

The Vertiflex Superion® Procedure is redefining the treatment of LSS (Lumbar Spinal Stenosis) for patients. It provides patients with a clinically proven, minimally invasive solution that is designed to deliver long-term relief from the leg and back pain associated with LSS.

Vertiflex is a solution for back pain patients for whom medications or injections have failed. It involves a small implant that is placed inside the spine to help prevent reduction of the space when standing or walking.

Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS)

For patients with chronic pain in their back and or limbs who have not found pain relief from other treatments, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has become a standard treatment since approved by the FDA in 1989. SCS helps mask pain by blocking pain signals before they reach the brain. Many patients report a 50 to 70% reduction in overall pain leading to a decrease or elimination of the need for painkillers or other pain medications.

Stimulation is delivered to the spinal cord via a small device implanted in the body. This device replaces pain with a different feeling described as a gentle massaging sensation or simply the absence of pain.

Patients will have a temporary trial that will last from 3-5 days to see what percentage of pain is relieved. If the trial is successful, a permanent implant of the system can be performed. The patient will stay in control of their pain using a handheld device.

Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM)

Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM) or Intraoperative Neuromonitoring is the use of electrophysiological methods such as electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and evoked potentials MEP’s (Motor Evoked Potentials) & SSEP’s (Somatosensory Evoked Potentials) to monitor the functional integrity of certain neural structures (e.g., nerves, spinal cord and parts of the brain) during surgery. The purpose of IONM is to reduce the risk to the patient of iatrogenic damage to the nervous system, and/or to provide functional guidance to the surgeon and anesthesiologist. This monitoring is performed to provide a surgeon with feedback during surgery on the function of the nervous system.

The certified intraoperative neuromonitoring technician has real time communication with a neurologist who is monitoring the patient the entire time by remote access. The neurologist can communicate to the technician as he/she is reading the waveforms to inform the surgeon with feedback.

Sacroiliac Fusion

The sacrum is a big, triangular-shaped bone at the base of your spine. The ilium is the big bone in your hip. The SI joint is where the sacrum meets the inside of the ilium. The idea behind SI joint fusion surgery is to join these bones together. There are several manufacturers of the implant: NuTech SI FIX, CORNERLOC, PSIF (Posterior Sacroiliac Fusion). These implants are designed to rub against the patient’s own bone to assist with the fusion.

MILD Procedure

If your doctor determines you have Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS) caused by excessive ligament, the MILD (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression) procedure may be for you. It is a quick outpatient procedure performed through a tiny incision taking the “kink” away from the spinal canal. LSS is a condition where the spinal canal narrows and compresses the spinal cord nerves in your lower back. As we age, there are conditions that can cause symptoms such as pain, numbness or tingling in the buttocks, legs and lower back. It may limit the amount of time you can stand or walk. The physicians at North Lakes Pain Consultants are experts at the MILD Procedure. Learn more here.

Our response to COVID-19

Your safety is our number one priority. We are implementing safety measures to help minimize the risk of the spread of COVID-19.