Interventional Pain Management

At Long Island Spine Specialists, our experts provide the latest in non-invasive and minimally-invasive interventional pain management treatments for the neck and back. Our physiatrists are Board-certified, fellowship trained physicians specializing in the diagnosis of pain.

WHAT IS INTERVENTIONAL PAIN MANAGEMENT?

Left untreated, chronic back and neck pain can impede the healing process, interfere with exercise, and decrease your quality of life.

With the right pain management procedures for your symptoms, our specialists can:

Reduce back pain
Confirm the source of your symptoms
Support the rehabilitation process after surgery

OUR INTERVENTIONAL PAIN MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

INTERLAMINAR EPIDURAL STEROID INJECTIONS IN LONG ISLAND

The basics:

A common, long-term treatment approach for spinal stenosis, herniated discs, and irritated nerves
Reduces pain, inflammation, and other symptoms for weeks or months

Cortisone/steroid is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication that can reduce pain, numbness, and inflammation caused by a herniated disc, spinal stenosis, and other conditions that involve irritated spinal nerves.

During the procedure, one of our pain management doctors will inject the steroid directly into the epidural space using fluoroscopic(x-ray) guidance (the area between the bone and the spinal canal.) Once in place, the medication can relieve or reduce pain.

TRANSFORAMINAL EPIDURAL STEROID INJECTIONS IN LONG ISLAND

The basics:

A diagnostic/therapeutic injection that determines the cause of your back pain
Reduces pain, tingling, numbness, and inflammation
Minimizes swelling of irritated spinal nerves

This procedure involves injecting steroids into the foramen – the opening of the spine where the nerve root exits. The injection is done under fluoroscopic guidance, and allows us to reduce inflammation and swelling of the spinal nerve roots.

SACROILIAC JOINT INJECTIONS

The basics:

Reduces pain and inflammation in the sacroiliac joint
A diagnostic test that confirms the source of your pain

The sacroiliac joints are located in the lower back and buttocks, where the pelvis meets the sacrum. This procedure involves injecting a local anesthetic into this area under fluoroscopic guidance.

If the injection reduces pain and inflammation, our Long Island pain management physicians can confirm that the sacroiliac joint is the source of your symptoms. Further treatment will depend on relief from the injection.

FACET JOINT INJECTIONS

The basics:

Reduces pain and inflammation from the facet joint
A diagnostic test that confirms the source of your pain

Facet joint injections are chemical sensory nerve blocks that help reduce/relieve pain caused by irritation or inflammation of the facet joints. In general, our Long Island interventional pain management specialists will recommend these injections to help us confirm if the facet joints are the source of your pain. Depending on the response to the injection, we can develop a targeted, long-term treatment plan.

Speak With A Specialist

Visit one of our New York locations.

MEDIAL BRANCH BLOCK

The basics:

A diagnostic test that determines or confirms whether the facet joint is the source of your pain
The results help your physician plan for a long-term treatment approach

The medial branch nerves provide the sensation to the facet joints. A medial branch block is used in patients who obtain good, but only temporary relief from facet joint injection. The procedure is done by temporarily interrupting the pain signal carried by these nerves. If you experience pain relief after this procedure, you may be a candidate for a radiofrequency neurotomy, which is a long-term solution to this kind of discomfort.

RADIOFREQUENCY NEUROTOMY

The basics:

A therapeutic treatment to ablate the medial branches that innervate the facet joint is the source of your pain

Once you have a positive diagnostic response to the medial branch block, you will be a candidate for radiofrequency neurotomy. In this procedure, our Long Island pain management specialist will ablate the nerve that supplies the facet joint giving patients relief of pain stemming from the facet joints.

DISCOGRAPHY

The basics:

A diagnostic test that can determine which disc is causing your pain
It is often used to guide our treatment of abnormal discs

Also known as a discogram, discography is a diagnostic procedure that our pain management doctors use to confirm which disc is causing the pain. It’s commonly recommended for patients who have persistent lower back, groin, hip, and leg pain with multiple possible lumbar sources of pain that have not responded to other approaches.

During this pain management procedure, our Long Island pain management doctor will inject a contrast dye into specific discs and outline any damaged areas on an X-ray and determine which discs are causing your symptoms.

ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG)

The basics:

A test that helps diagnose nerve disorders, motor neuron disorders, and disc herniation

An EMG is a diagnostic procedure that allows our Interventional pain management specialists to assess the health of the muscles and nerve cells surrounding your spine. We may order this test if you have symptoms that are indicative of a nerve or muscle disorder, such as tingling, numbness, muscle weakness, and pain.

During the procedure, one of our physicians will place surface electrodes on your skin and small acupuncture size needle electrodes at various sites beneath the surface.

PLATELET RICH PLASMA (PRP) TREATMENT

The basics:

Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy utilizes platelets taken from the patient’s own blood to rebuild damaged tendons or cartilage

Platelets normally circulate within the bloodstream and are responsible for blood clotting and initiating a healing response in an acute injury. Many acute injuries do not heal adequately and can lead to chronic pain and loss of function of the injured area.

Platelet rich plasma therapy allows us to harvest the patient’s own platelets and re-inject those into the site of the injury to initiate healing and improvement of function. This is typically done under image guidance such as ultrasound and/or fluoroscopy and can be done in our office.

As a result, the damaged tissue begins to heal. PRP has been successful in not only relieving pain, but also in jump-starting the healing process.

*PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) and Stem Cell injections are currently considered experimental treatments though laboratory studies have shown that the increased concentration of growth factors, particularly in PRP, can potentially speed up the healing process.

Please find the following three links to articles on research and effectiveness of PRP treatment:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23825183/?i=2&from=/24384918/related
https://www.abstractsonline.com/plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?mID=2984&sKey=080c430c-a1bf-460f-abd4-14682ff9d72b&cKey=42076ab0-87b0-4dd2-a02c-abdecbc10d87&mKey=%7b342D5FB6-3E41-46BB-82B4-861286ECFB41%7d