Interventional Pain Procedures with Tampa Bay Orthopaedic & Spine
Our doctors are skilled in the complete range of interventional pain procedures to assist our patients in alleviating pain. In addition, we have been at the leading edge of innovative regenerative treatments to provide positive outcomes for our injured patients. In fact, Dr. Wall has been one of the pioneers in the use of platelet rich plasma in Orthopedic medicine with over 10 years of experience. He was the first physician in the Tampa Bay area to utilize platelet rich plasma ( PRP ) for orthopedic conditions such as tennis elbow, rotator cuff injuries and meniscal tears of the knee. He was the first physician in the country to utilize Platelet Rich Plasma ( PRP ) for the treatment of injuries of the joints of the spine. He has been at the forefront of research into PRP and was one of the first practitioners in the country to utilize cytokine rich plasma ( CRP ), a significant advancement over platelet rich plasma , in the care of his patients. We now routinely use CRP to successfully treat a myriad of orthopedic conditions.
Procedures
Below is a list of the various advanced interventional injections and treatments available at our center.
Epidural Steroid Injection
Epidural Steroid Injections are performed for injuries or pain arising from the discs of the spine. These injections involve placing a single needle into an area of the spine known as the epidural space. Once proper position of the needle is confirmed by use of a dye, then a steroid medication is injected through the needle. This medication bathes the adjacent disc(s) and reduces inflammation surrounding these discs resulting in a reduction of pain signals from these areas. This procedure can be performed in the neck, mid back and low back.
PRP / CRP injections of the Facet Joints of the Spine
Spinal joints and the associated capsules that surround each joint can often be an area of pain that is missed by health care practitioners. It is a common source of spinal pain especially following trauma. The use of PRP / CRP has been a major advance in the treatment of these injuries. We have helped thousands of patients suffering from ongoing pain with the use of PRP/ CRP injections. Multiple needles are placed within the injured facet joint capsules of the neck or low back and the PRP/ CRP injected. It generally requires 5 to 7 days for these regenerative treatments to begin to work after which the patient’s pain levels generally diminish significantly.
Sacroiliac Injections
The sacroiliac joint is where the lower bone of the spine called the sacrum meets the “hip bone” known as the ilium and is held together by strong fibrous ligaments. Injury to these ligaments of the sacroiliac joint can often result in pain of the buttock that often travels down the leg of the affected side. Injection within the joint of either a steroid preparation of PRP/ CRP can provide significant relief of this pain.
Medial Branch Blocks
Medial Branch Blocks ( MBB ) are primarily used to diagnose injury to the facet joints of the neck or low back. A local anesthetic is injected onto the medial branch nerve that supplies the affected spinal facet joints numbing that nerve for a period of time. MBB’s can be used to assist your doctor in determining if radiofrequency ablation of the nerve may provide longer relief of a patient’s facet pain.
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)
Radiofrequency ablation, also called rhizotomy, is a nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedure that uses heat to reduce or stop the transmission of pain. Radiofrequency waves ablate, or “burn,” the small medial branch nerves that are signaling the pain, essentially eliminating the transmission of pain signals to the brain. It does not “fix” the injury but is useful in providing 6 to 12 months of pain relief of spinal joint pain of the neck or low back. For patients desiring the opportunity for a more permanent treatment of facet pain of the low back facet capsuloplasty surgery is generally recommended.