Health

Interventional Spine Treatments in Atlanta

Interventional spine treatments allow orthopaedic specialists, such as the team at Barbour Orthopaedics, to provide significant life-improving pain relief and improve mobility without resorting to invasive surgeries. Some of the interventional spine treatments we provide include: 

• Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI)
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) – Spine 
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) – Hip
• Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) – Knee 
• Sacroiliac Joint Injection
• Trigger Point Injections
• Facet Joint Injections
• Nerve Blocks
• Epidural Steroid Injection (ESI)

Some people experience back, neck, leg and arm pain due to inflamed spinal nerves. These inflamed nerves can also be attributed to disc herniation or spinal stenosis. An epidural steroid injection (ESI) is intended to reduce the inflammation by delivering a corticosteroid and a numbing agent directly into the epidural space, which is a fat-filled cavity located between the protective sac containing the spinal nerves and the spinal bone.  

ESI is a temporary fix to reduce pain, but it does treat the root of symptoms rather than just the symptoms themselves. Some patients experience significant pain reduction for months or even years after an ESI, which gives them time to treat their condition with other non-invasive methods such as physical therapy. 

Cooled SI Radiofrequency Ablations (RFA) – Spine, Hip and Knee

Facet joints are located in the spine and give people the ability to bend and twist freely – ideally without pain. However, the smoothness of facet joint movement is highly dependent on cartilage, which provides cushioning and prevents vertebrae from grinding against each other during movement. 

There are also nerves that exit the spine through facet joints. In some cases, the facet joint nerves can become impinged or inflamed, leading to significant pain. 

During cooled SI radiofrequency ablation treatments, the offending nerves are denatured to essentially deactivate the pain sensation transmissions they send. The procedure may need to be repeated in the future after the nerves regenerate their ability to send pain signals. 

RFA can also be used to treat nerve pain in other joints, such as RFA of the hip or RFA of the knee. 

Sacroiliac Joint Injection

The sacroiliac joint is between the base of the spine – the sacrum – and the iliac bone – approximately in the middle of a person’s pelvis. The joint is stabilized by ligaments and muscles that are intended to limit the motion it is subjected to. Sacroiliac joint pain can have its root in many different potential issues, from age and injury to infections or cancer. 

Sacroiliac joint injections consist of a local anesthetic and a steroid. The anesthetic provides initial pain relief, which may last for several hours following the injection. The steroid is intended to provide prolonged pain relief and usually begins working within one to two days of the injection.

Trigger Point Injections

Trigger points are essentially muscle knots, which occur when muscle fibers or fascia tense and tighten and refuse to relax. Trigger points can appear as bumps and are painful to the touch, which can make many aspects of daily living, even lying and sitting down, painful for patients. 

Trigger point injections are intended to force these knots to relax. These injections often contain a combination of saline, a local anesthetic, and a corticosteroid. Once the injection has relaxed the trigger point a patient’s pain should dissipate.  

Facet Joint Injections

People affected by facet joint syndrome, also known as osteoarthritis, experience pain between two vertebrae, usually because the cartilage that separates the vertebrae at the facet joints has worn away.  

This degeneration can be caused by wear and tear due to age or an injury. The space between vertebrae begins to shrink as the cartilage is worn away and the intervertebral discs begin to diminish and become compromised. Eventually, the facet joints no longer properly line up with the vertebrae they are supposed to separate. 

If the discs and cartilage continue to break down the vertebrae will eventually grind against one another, causing significant pain due to pinched nerves and leading to the development of bone spurs around the facet joints.  

Facet joint injections shouldn’t be confused with a treatment to address the issue of degraded cartilage or compromised intervertebral discs. Rather, the facet joint injections numb the nerves that can be pinched due to facet joint syndrome. 

These injections not only bring relief, they can also be a valuable diagnostic tool for orthopaedic specialists. If the carefully targeted facet joint injection provides back or neck pain relief, the doctor has successfully identified the exact source of the problem and can develop a more comprehensive treatment plan, such as cervical or lumbar disc replacement, to address the problem at its root. 

Nerve Block Injection

Back pain is often caused by pinched nerves, which are all too common in people’s backs for a variety of reasons. Many degenerative conditions and injuries, such as ruptured or herniated intervertebral discs, can cause nerves to be pinched or otherwise irritated. Nerve block injections, or neural blockades, essentially shut down the nerve’s ability to transmit pain, providing significant relief. Epidural injections are an example of nerve blocking.

It’s important to receive nerve blocks and other spinal injections from physicians who have extensive experience administering these types of injections. The needle needs to penetrate through multiple layers of tissue with pinpoint accuracy to deliver the medication to the precise nerve.