Spine Pain

A pinched nerve in the neck can result from awkward sleeping position, or part of ageing process. MRI scan is used to evaluate the degree of disc herniation. Once we localise the level of nerve impingement, we can plan for image guided injection to further strengthen the diagnosis, and provide pain relief. Minimally invasive treatments for disk prolapse in the neck include nucleorplasty, with 70% rate of symptom improvement.

Back pain is one of the most common causes of absence from work. Causes include vertebral fractures, slipped discs, or even infections and tumours. These should be ruled out and evaluated with MRI. In cases of pinched nerve from slipped discs, image guided injection therapy and physiotherapy are effective in reducing pain, restoring the patient to activities of daily living. Vertebral compression fractures, often due to osteoporosis, can also be treated in a minimally invasive way with cement injection and stabilising implants. Patients usually go home the next day.

Contrary to popular belief, a slipped disc usually does not worsen to the point of paralysis. It does cause sharp pain, reducing the range of movement and impacting sleep and function. Slipped discs have different degrees of severity, from mild bulging as we age, to focal protrusions pressing on the nerves in the spine. They are also associated with annular tears, which are extremely painful fissures in the sides of the disc. Treatment of slipped discs has now moved from surgery to image guided injections, and achieved good results in terms of pain relief in the medical literature.

Sacroiliac joint problems can be due to many causes, ranging from infection, to instability. Chronic unstable sacroiliac joints arising from ligament laxity (usually affecting females) can be troublesome, requiring repeat visits for injections and physical therapy. In such cases, we perform radiofrequency ablation of the irritated nose around the joint, with long-lasting pain relief (up to 1 year according to medical literature).