Spine
Putting lives and vertebrae back together.
Interventional radiology is a minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment option for patients that have pain in their back or spine due to cancer, nerve root damage, inflammation, or vertebral fractures.
Symptoms of spine disorder may include:
- Abnormally rounded shoulders or back.
- Back or neck pain that can be sharp and stabbing, dull and aching, or burning.
- Bladder or bowel dysfunction.
- Nausea and/or vomiting.
- Pain radiating in the arms or legs.
- Stiffness or tightness
Treatment
Interventional radiology techniques are used to diagnose and treat vertebral disc problems and other conditions of the spine. Imaging technology accurately guides minimally invasive procedures with needles, catheters, and other devices to alleviate back pain.
Procedures
The most common type of interventional spine treatment is given in the form of injections.
These injections include the following:
- Epidural Steroid injections can help to reduce pain in the legs and arms caused by damage to the nerves.
- Facet joint injections, which help to alleviate pain caused by vertebrae that are aging and hardening.
- SI or Sacroiliac joint injections reduce the pain felt when the part of the body that connects the spine and the pelvis begins to degenerate.
- Nerve Root injections can provide relief by injecting a steroid directly into the nerve.
- Radiofrequency neurotomy is another interventional spine procedure that can bring about pain relief. It uses specialized X-Ray technology to deliver radiofrequency and heat to a particular location with a needle, which disables the nerves from transmitting pain signals.
- Intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) uses heat therapy to remodel the walls of discs that have been damaged and cracked over time and now cause pain.
- Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a cement mixture to reinforce fractured vertebrae, strengthening the spine for immediate pain relief and prevention of future fractures.
- Vertebroplasty, when an interventional radiologist injects glue-like bone substance into vertebrae that are damaged due to osteoporosis, tumors, or trauma. The substance stabilizes and alleviates the cracked bone rapidly, providing immediate pain relief and improving mobility.
