Tag Archives: phoenix pain management

6 Ways to Avoid Surgery for Spinal Stenosis

Posted on by
PinterestPrintShare

As people age, pain can result in the legs due to spinal stenosis. This refers to spinal arthritis over growing areas and pinching on spinal nerves as they tried to leave the spinal Spinal Stenosis Treatmentcanal. It’s one of the most common diagnoses as an individual in the 50 to 85 age range develops pain in the lower extremities.

Once the diagnosis is made and is deemed not to be a vascular issue, the question is how to avoid surgery for symptomatic spinal stenosis. The surgery that is done to relieve the pain is called a laminectomy and is purely an elective procedure.

Here are the 7 most effective ways to treat stenosis to avoid going under the knife.

1. Over-the-counter anti-inflammatories and Tylenol. This sounds very simple and it is. These medications are low risk when taken according to manufacturer’s recommended dosing. In addition, they can be extremely effective for mild to moderate symptoms of spinal stenosis. As a nerve roots gets pinched from the overgrown tissue with arthritis, inflammation can result, which is what the anti-inflammatories can reduce.

2. Physical therapy. PT can be extremely helpful for reducing stenosis pain,

Pain Clinics in Phoenix

Physical therapy can be great for spinal stenosis symptoms.

strengthening up the muscles in the back, along with core strengthening, flexibility and relieving pressure on nerves. In addition, there are treatments including electrical stimulation and ultrasound which may also relieve symptoms.

3. Chiropractic treatment. While not a permanent solution, spinal stenosis can be helped with Phoenix chiropractor manipulations. This may temporarily decompress nerve roots and hence reduce pain.

4. Spinal decompression therapy. This treatment became FDA cleared back in the late 1990s and involves intermittent spinal traction. Continuous spinal traction has been shown not to be helpful for spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease. However, individuals with spinal stenosis often can obtain 3 to 6 months of pain relief with a series of decompression therapy.

The treatment is noninvasive and most individuals fall asleep during the treatments as it is Pain Doctors in Phoenixnot painful.

5. Additional medications. Pain management doctors in Arizona may treat stenosis with medications including nerve membrane stabilizers such as Lyrica or Neurontin. It is unclear how these medicines work, but they can help a lot with sciatica type pain from stenosis. For periods of acute exacerbation, narcotics may be indicated to relieve bad symptoms. Over the long-term, the risks start to outweigh the benefits however.

6. Epidural steroid injections. These have long been a gold standard treatment for spinal stenosis treatment. The injection places cortisone medication around the inflamed nerve roots. Phoenix pain clinic

Modern Arizona pain management involves the usage of fluoroscopy, which is a real-time form of x-ray for increased accuracy. There are multiple different ways of performing epidural injections, including intralaminar epidurals, transforaminal epidurals or caudal injections. A person may need a series of injections to obtain maximum pain relief, and this can be repeated every few months.

If you or a loved one is experiencing spinal stenosis type symptoms, help is available. Arizona Pain Specialists offers comprehensive pain treatments for spinal stenosis, which are performed by an Award Winning team of Board Certified pain management doctors Phoenix pain doctorsand chiropractors. There are 4 locations throughout the Valley, including a new Phoenix pain clinic.

Arizona Pain accepts over 50 different insurances. The clinics have Arizona pain doctors accepting Medicare, Medicaid, major medical, Personal Injury, Worker’s Compensation and self pay. For more information and scheduling, call (602) 507-6550 today!

An Overview of What Nerve Roots Do – from an AZ pain clinic

Posted on by
PinterestPrintShare

The spinal cord runs from the top of the neck all the way down to the lumbar spine. It ends about the level of L1 (1st lumbar level) and then keeps going but is then referred to as the Pinched Nerve Treatmentdural sac.

At each spinal level, nerve roots come out on both the right and the left side. What exactly are the function of these nerve roots?

Nerve roots end up providing multiple functions that we all take for granted. That is, until something goes wrong and a problem presents itself.

Nerve roots come up from the spine and allow people to feel pain, hot and cold, and balance. Along with the sensation benefits, nerve roots also allow muscle function such as flexing the biceps or lifting up the leg and foot.

The third function of nerve roots is less commonly thought of, and that is the ability to feel the position of the body in space. An example would be to know that the arm is elevated,

AZ pain center

The quadriceps receives innervation from multiple nerve roots, so when one gets pinched it still works, just may be weak.

or to know where the leg is situated in the dark.

Typically, functions of a lot of nerve roots overlap. This means that for instance, the ability to lift up ones quadricep comes from multiple nerve roots innervating the muscles for this function. Therefore, if one of these nerve roots is compressed and unable to provide motor function, typically they will simply be weakness as the other muscles can somewhat compensate.

When a disc herniation occurs and a nerve root gets compressed, that in end of itself does not cause pain. But what it can do is spark up inflammation and that can lead to pain shooting down the person’s arm or leg as a result.

Phoenix pain clinicIn addition, compression of a nerve roots can lead to numbness, a pins and needle sensation along with muscle weakness as well.

Most of the time, if compression is removed from a nerve root, the pain associated with the inflammation will resolve. Interestingly, the numbness that has been experienced from the compressed nerve may never resolve.

If an individual has been having motor weakness from the nerve root compression, often times that will get better with the compression being resolved. If however, the compression has existed for over 3 to 6 months, it may not fully resolve either. What this means is that compressed nerve roots do have a potential to resolve, but not always.

If you are experiencing significant leg or arm pain and suspect you have a pinched nerve, help is available. Arizona Pain Specialists has an Award Winning team of Board Certified pain management doctors in Arizona that offer comprehensive treatment for pinched Arizona pain centersnerves.

These include Phoenix chiropractor treatment, pain medication management, spinal decompression therapy, interventional pain management, acupuncture,physical rehabilitation and more. Call today at (602) 507-6550 for scheduling.

What are the 3 Different Kinds of Epidural Steroid Injections?

Posted on by
PinterestPrintShare

Since the 1960’s, epidural steroid injections have been used in pain management successfully for pain relief. Since then, the theory of the injections has not changed. Applying the steroid medication around a pinched nerve bathes it with a hefty Sciatica Treatment Phoenixanti-inflammatory. Pain is usually relieved dramatically.

Steroids themselves have remained the primary medicine because nothing better has been developed that works as well. While the application of steroid doesn’t fix the disc herniation problem, it does relieve the pain while the body hopefully disintegrates the piece of disc that has squeezed out.

The initial type of epidural steroid injections that was invented were called interlaminar epidurals. This type involves the AZ pain doctor placing a needle between the bones in the back of the spine (called the lamina). The Arizona pain doctor uses a technique called the “loss of resistance” to feel as the soft tissues behind the spinal canal are breached and the canal is reached.

Epidural Injection PhoenixMost pain management doctors in Arizona now utilize ultrasound guidance or fluoroscopy, which is a real time form of x-ray for accuracy. Previous studies have shown a miss rate upwards of 40% without it. Do you want to go through the trouble of undergoing an epidural injection for burning sciatica and not have the highest accuracy available? That’s why the vast majority of pain doctors use some kind of image guidance.

A second type of epidural injection is a caudal epidural. This version is exceptionally helpful when multiple nerve roots are being pinched, such as with spinal stenosis. The injection point is at the bottom of the spine through an opening known as the sacral hiatus. A larger volume of steroid medication is injected, and it can reach multiple pinched nerve roots by gravity and provide pain relief.

The newest type of epidural injection is called a transforaminal epidural steroid injection

Caudal Epidural Injection

Caudal Epidural Injections are placed through the bottom of the sacrum.

(TESI). For this injection, the pain doctor in Phoenix or Scottsdale places the steroid in the area where the nerve root exits from the spinal canal, called the foramen. This way, the steroid goes much closer to the point of actual pinching. For the lumbar spine, this type of injection is immensely popular. Not as much, though, for the cervical spine. In this area, it presents a higher risk profile with numerous vessels being nearby.

The results of epidural injections have been consistently impressive overall. Numerous studies have shown the results of epidural steroid injections for sciatica match the results of surgical intervention at the one year outcome point (Eur Spine J. 2011 Apr;20(4):513-22.)

Most studies show between 75% and 90% effectiveness for steroid injections to help with sciatica symptoms. (Manchikanti et al, Pain Physician. 2010 Jul-Aug;13(4):343-55.) There are some studies that show transforaminal injections are superior to interlaminar (Roberts et al, PM R. 2009 AZ pain centerJul;1(7):657-68.)

When it comes to how many injections should be received, it may take a series of 3 injections to obtain optimal pain relief. This series can be repeated every few months. The objective is to achieve optimal pain relief while not overloading the body with too much steroid. The problem is it is not definitively known what is meant by overloading the body with steroids. So there are simply rough guidelines.

If you or a loved one is suffering from burning pain in the legs or arms, it may be due to a pinched nerve(s). The best Metropolitan Phoenix pain management clinics, Arizona Pain Specialists, have Board Certified pain doctors who are experts in epidural steroid Pain Management Doctors in Arizonainjections. Depending on the where the pinched nerve is present and how many are being compressed will determine the type of epidural injection that is indicated.

Arizona Pain accepts over 50 insurances, including Workers Compensation and Personal Injury, Medicare, Major medical, and some AHCCCS plans. Call (602) 507-6550 for one number scheduling!