Knee Conditions We Treat
Disc Injuries
Your vertebrae are separated by soft, rubbery discs that act as shock absorbers. A bulging disc occurs when the disc wall weakens, allowing the softer interior to push outward. Finally, a disc herniation occurs when the wall tears entirely, leaving a hole for the inner portion to extrude or leak through. Disc material can compress spinal nerves, resulting in severe lower extremity pain. They can also narrow the space around the central spinal cord, resulting in pain and/or weakness with walking.
Over time, due to wear and tear, spinal discs begin to break down. They lose their flexibility, resulting in a stiff, achy lower back that may easily become injured.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome
Also called CRPS, this rare form of chronic pain typically develops after an injury or surgery when nerves become damaged and continue to send severe pain signals long after the original injury has been addressed. Severe pain, swelling, sensitivity to touch and skin changes may occur.
This occurs after an unsuccessful back surgery and is most often caused by improper or insufficient patient selection processes before the operation. Post laminectomy syndrome is a common variation that causes a buildup of scar tissue, instability, and joint issues. Fusion surgery is associated with a number of pain conditions.
Vertebral joints are stabilized by a series of structures, called facet joints, to prevent excessive twisting or toppling. Facet syndrome occurs when these joints degenerate, resulting in stiff, painful, and inflexible joints in the lumbar spine.
A muscle spasm is a painful, uncontrollable contortion of muscles in the back. They often arise due to injuries, especially from heavy lifting, though they may also be associated with more serious medical conditions like disc herniation.
Lumbar radiculopathy describes any condition that irritates a nerve in your lower back. These nerves are responsible for carrying sensory signals from the legs. As a result, radiculopathy often causes radiating pain, burning, tingling, or numbness in the legs. Weakness of the legs may also be evident.
This condition is more commonly known as osteoarthritis. Due to time, wear, and tear, the cartilage between spinal joints begins to degrade and stiffen, causing pain and loss of mobility.
The lower spine is connected and stabilized by a network of tissues called ligaments. A sprain occurs when one of these ligaments stretches and tears, often as a result of sudden trauma.
As we age, the spinal canal can become narrow. This may result in compression of the spinal cord. Symptoms include pain in the back or legs when walking. Leg weakness may also occur.
Trauma or sudden falls can cause the bone around the discs to collapse resulting in severe pain.
Excessive lifting, pushing, or pulling can result in injury to the sacroiliac joints. This pain is often in the hip and/or buttock and may radiate to the groin.
Treatment Options for Lower Back Pain
George J. Arcos is a double board-certified and proficient in a variety of procedures to relieve lower back pain.
These include:
- Caudal, interlaminar, and transforaminal epidural steroid injections
- Discography
- Endoscopic discectomy
- Ganglion impar block
- Epidural lysis of adhesions
- Facet joint injections
- Facet joint thermal ablation
- Sacroiliac joint injections
- Kyphoplasty
- Sacroiliac joint fusion
- Minimally invasive spine fusion
- Spinal cord stimulator
- Minimally invasive treatment for spinal stenosis
- MILD
- Vertiflex
- MinuteMan
- PNS
- Via Disc: for advanced degenerative disc disease
- Intracept: for symptomatic degenerative disc disease causing vertebrogenic pain