Pain Management

The Anesthesiologist specialize in performing a variety of pain management procedures.  The more popular pain injections include:
 

  • Epidurals (Thoracic, Cervical, & Lumbar Transforaminal and Interlaminar)
    • Safe and highly effective, epidural nerve block treatments can offer substantial pain relief from pain.  An injection is delivered into a small space near the spine to provide relief from pain or inflammation. An epidural injection may be performed to alleviate pain caused by a herniated or bulging disc, spinal stenosis, post-operative “failed back” surgery syndromes (chronic back or leg pain after spinal surgery), headaches, or other injuries to spinal nerves, vertebrae, and surrounding tissues.
  • Facet joint blocks
    • Facet injections are injections of medications into the actual facet joints. Facet joints are located between each set of vertebrae in the spine from the neck to the tailbone. Facet joints allow each vertebra to move against the vertebra just above and just below it. Facet injections are used to reduce the inflammation and swelling of tissue in and around the facet joint space. This may in turn reduce pain and other symptoms caused by inflammation or irritation of the facet joint and surrounding structures.
  • Sacroiliac joint injections
    • A sacroiliac joint injection is used to diagnose or treat low back pain and/or sciatica symptoms associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The sacroiliac joints lie next to the spine and connect the sacrum with the hip on both sides. There are two sacroiliac joints, one on the right and one on the left. Joint inflammation and/or dysfunction in this area can cause pain.  With prolonged pain relief after this type of injection, a patient can begin a physical therapy and rehabilitation program to further reduce pain and return to normal activity.
  • Post-Spine Surgery Injections
    • Some patients may experience ongoing pain after surgical intervention.  Anesthesiologist employ a variety of injections to facilitate post-surgical recovery and amerliorate post-operative pain.
  • Sympathetic Nerve Blocks
    • A sympathetic nerve block can be an effective method for controlling chronic pain, targeting the sympathetic nervous system. These blocks can be used to diagnose or treat pain stemming from spasms in blood vessels, chronic abdominal pain, excessive sweating, complex regional pain syndrome, or Raynaud’s syndrome.

Other Procedures
Anesthesiologists employ injective techniques for a variety of other pain syndromes, including, but not limited to, headaches, myofascial/musculoskeletal pain, and pain associated with shingles