Dr. Martin had the pleasure of shadowing Dr. Michael Jung, a pain management doctor, earlier this month. This blog explains the pain management spine care procedures she observed. It also details the conditions these procedures help, and how it relates to what our chiropractors do in our clinic.

Waukesha Spine Care

Dr. Jung is a medical doctor who works out of Advanced Pain Management Center in Waukesha and West Bend. He performs several different spine care procedures designed to diminish his patients’ pain symptoms. The procedures Dr. Martin observed include the following: spinal spacer, spinal stimulator, radiofrequency ablation, and epidural injections. Most of these are designed to manage pain at the spinal level by affecting nerves and their signaling. All of these procedures are performed in an outpatient setting under the careful eye of an incredibly attentive nursing staff. His patients are able to go home the same day, usually an hour or two after their procedure.

Indirect Decompression or Spinal Spacer

The spinal spacer is designed for patients with stenosis and helps open up the spinal canal, so there is less compression on their nerves. Most often this procedure is performed on the lumbar spine, where the nerves affect the patient’s legs. This is truly an amazing new technology, especially considering the previous solution was removing bone from the vertebrae to create the extra space. This procedure, called a laminectomy, was accompanied by many more risks and complications.

Epidural Steriod Injection and Neurostimulation Therapy

The epidural injections are performed along one or multiple spinal segments to temporarily block pain signaling. This spine care procedure involves injecting a steroid medication into the inflamed tissue surrounding the irritated nerve(s). Dr. Jung performs this procedure under x-ray guidance, so he can be sure to place the injection at the correct spinal level.

The neurostimulation therapy treatment, also called a spinal stimulator, involves a small implantable device. Once placed, the spinal stimulator will supply electrical frequencies to different spine segments. This affects nerve signaling to decrease pain felt along the spine.

Radiofrequency Ablation

The radiofrequency ablation procedures involves a small electrode which heats up a specific area of nerve tissue. The heat destroys the nerve tissue, so it cannot send pain signals any longer. It is most often used for extremity (leg or arm) pain symptoms.

Conservative Approach to Spine Care

Something that really resonated with Dr. Martin was that multiple steps were taken before patients went through these surgeries. The patients who required surgery had the least invasive procedures performed first, before trying a more invasive procedure like a spinal stimulator or a radiofrequency ablation. For example, a patient receiving a spinal stimulator had a test stimulator placed for a week or two prior. This helped ensure the results will be positive. Another example was a patient received an epidural that worked well prior to a radiofrequency ablation procedure. This is conservative approach, from least invasive to most invasive, is something the Elite Sport & Spine team agrees with wholeheartedly!

Spine Care Referrals

At Elite Sport & Spine, we place a great deal of importance on building relationships with other medical professionals. We value a network of spine care providers we trust to refer patients, when necessary. Our goal is serving our patients and providing the best care possible! Other medical professionals that we trust, such as Dr. Jung, allow us to do just that. Dr. Martin enjoyed the chance to spend some time with Dr. Jung and observe him in action!