Upstate Carolina Radiology

Pain Relief & Management

pain-managementBack pain is one of the most common patient complaints in health care.  It is also one of the most common reasons people in our society visit with their primary care physicians.  This often leads to numerous visits to spine surgeons and ‘pain management’ doctors for evaluation. Our Interventional Radiologists are board certified and specialty trained in the use of the most highly technological, non-invasive imaging equipment to treat back pain with minimally invasive techniques.

Our doctors perform image guided epidural, facet joint, and nerve root steroid injections for back pain treatment and image guided epidural steroid injections for neck pain.  Our doctors also treat pain associated with cancer of the spine using a combination of radiofrequency tumor ablation and bone cement augmentation, and treat compression fractures of the spine with kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty procedures.

Related Information

Kyphoplasty

Balloon Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive treatment that can repair spinal fractures. It is an effective and clinically proven procedure performed by a spine specialist. It takes about an hour to treat a fracture with Balloon Kyphoplasty and it can be performed as an inpatient or outpatient procedure under local or general anesthesia. Read More

Vertebroplasty

Nonsurgical Vertebroplasty is effective pain treatment for spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis or bone tumors. Vertebroplasty is a pain treatment for vertebral compression fractures that fail to respond to conventional medical therapy, such as minimal or no pain relief with analgesics or narcotic doses that are intolerable. Read More

Sacroplasty

One treatment option with much faster means of returning to normal activity is called a Sacroplasty. This is a minimally invasive procedure performed by an Interventional Radiologist. This procedure will take approximately an hour and is performed as an inpatient or outpatient procedure under a local or general anesthesia. Read More

Spinewand

Coablation using the Spinewand targets the lesion, or tumor, directly to eliminate it from the vertebra. The Spinewand creates a very low temperature (40-70 degrees C) plasma field to vaporize the tumor, creating a cavity within the vertebral body. Read More

Spine Injections

There are several types of spinal injections, often referred to as nerve blocks or blocks. They may be used for both pain relief and diagnostic purposes. Spinal injections are usually performed using a live x-ray (fluoroscopy) for guidance. Common spinal injections include: Epidural Steroid Injection, Facet Injection, Selective Nerve Root Block, Sacroiliac Joint Block, Celiac Plexus Block and Intercostal Nerve Block. Read More

Radiofrequency Ablation of Osteoid Osteomas

Radiofrequency Ablation is a nonsurgical option, which offers a localized treatment that destroys the tumor cells with heat, while preserving the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor. Radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteomas has given patients another option that is much less invasive with vastly shorter recovery periods or the other option which is long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Read More