Traditional Procedures
We have provided a list of the most common procedures that we preform.
Back Neck Injections
Doctors use cortisone to treat neck and back pain by injecting the steroid directly into the site of the inflammation. If strained muscles are causing your neck pain, the cortisone will work to reduce swelling in those muscles. If neck pain is being caused by the inflammation of a pinched nerve, cortisone will reduce the swelling and relieve the pressure on the nerve.
Sacroiliac Joint Injections: A sacroiliac Injection is an injection of a steroid or other medication into a sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joints are located on either side or the sacrum or tailbone. They connect the tailbone to the pelvis. The steroid injected reduces the inflammation and swelling of tissue in and around the joint space. This may in turn reduce pain, and other symptoms caused by inflammation or irritation of the joint and surrounding structures.
Piriformis Muscle/Sciatic Nerve Block Injections. The steroid medication injected will help reduce the inflammation and /or swelling around the nerves that pass near or through the piriformis muscle. This in turn may reduce your pain, numbness, tingling or other symptoms that may contribute to nerve inflammation, irritation or swelling
Joint / Bursa Injections
Bursa injection can help soothe joint pain caused by arthritis, bursitis and other painful inflammatory diseases.
A bursa is a gel-filled sac that helps muscles and tendons glide over bones. You have bursae in your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and other parts of your body.
When bursae get swollen, they can cause joint pain. But a steroid medication injected into your bursa can help reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain.
The doctor will numb your skin with a local anesthetic. Then he or she will insert a thin needle into your bursa to inject a mixture of anesthetic and steroid.
A Joint Injection is a steroid injection is a minimally invasive procedure that can temporarily relieve pain caused by an inflamed joint. The cause of joint pain (arthritis, injury, degeneration) is not well understood. The procedure has two purposes. First, it can be used as a diagnostic test to see if the pain is actually coming from the joint. Second, it can be used as a treatment to relieve inflammation and pain caused by various conditions.
Electrodiagnostic Study
Electrodiagnostic (EDX) studies (sometimes called EMG for electromyography) are a commonly used technique to test the function of muscles and nerves. These studies are ordered by physicians to help determine the cause of back or neck pain, numbness/tingling and strength loss. Commonly diagnosed conditions include “pinched nerves” (radiculopathies), peripheral nerve injuries and muscle disease.
They are usually two parts: one testing nerves (referred to as “nerve conduction studies”) and the other testing muscles (referred to as “electromyography”). These studies allow the NASS physician to learn how nerve and muscles are functioning. This testing process often helps to narrow down the possible causes of back/body pain and muscle weakness.
Trigger Point Injections
Trigger point injections are an effective treatment modality for inactivating trigger points and providing prompt relief of symptoms from myofascial pain syndrome. Myofascial pain syndrome is a common painful muscle disorder characterized by myofascial trigger points. This syndrome is distinct from fibromyalgia syndrome, which involves multiple tender points, though the two pain syndromes may be concurrent.
Myofascial trigger points are a major cause of pain and dysfunction. [1] They produce pain focally and in a referred pattern and often occur in conjunction with chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders. Various modalities for the treatment of trigger points include spray and stretch, ultrasound, manipulative therapy, and trigger point injections.
Tendon Injections
Tendon sheath injections are suggested when the tissues around a tendon are painful, swollen or difficult to move. Tendon sheath injections on their own are unlikely to offer a cure, but can be helpful alongside other treatments such as physiotherapy, splinting and other longer term medicines.
A tendon is a cord of strong fibrous tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is what allows the muscle to bend and straighten a joint when it contracts. Most tendons are surrounded by a sheath or sleeve of synovial tissue. This tissue produces tiny quantities of fluid that lubricate the tendon and allow it to slide smoothly over the joint and work effectively.
Nerve Blocks
A nerve block, or neural blockade, is a method of producing anesthesia — a loss of feeling used to prevent or control pain. Nerve blocks can be surgical or nonsurgical.
Nonsurgical nerve blocks involve injection of a medication around a specific nerve or a bundle of nerves. The medication prevents the nerves’ impulses from reaching the central nervous system (CNS) and making you feel pain. Instead, that part of your body will feel numb, or you might feel a “pins and needles” sensation.
Surgical nerve blocks involve deliberately cutting or destroying specific nerves to prevent them from sending out impulses to the CNS.