Whether you've sustained a recent injury, are experiencing unresolved pain or simply want a second opinion, the Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital is designed to treat your spine
care needs.

Our medical team includes orthopedic spine surgeons, radiology specialists, pain management specialists and experts in rehabilitation and physical therapy. Every test, therapy, procedure and surgery you may need is available through our facility – all in one
convenient location.

With experts on staff who specialize in the care of patients with spine pain, we offer both non-operative and surgical treatment options for a full range of spinal conditions. These include acute injuries and degenerative conditions of the back and neck. Some examples are disc herniations, spinal stenosis, fractures and tumors.

Recent advances in technology and medicine provide many more non-surgical and minimally invasive ways to treat spine disorders. To begin with, we use a conservative approach with anti-inflammatory medicine and physical therapy. Inflammation is thought to be the main cause of symptoms for most painful spine conditions. Anti-inflammatory medications help to reduce the swelling caused by inflammation. Physical therapy can help many types of acute and chronic back and neck pain. Proper posture and body mechanics training, therapeutic exercise and other techniques can increase the spine's strength or flexibility, strengthen core muscles including abdominals, and enable patients to manage and prevent future episodes of pain.

Interventional injections can help reduce swelling and discomfort at the pain site when anti-inflammatory medications are not effective. These are often used in conjunction with physical therapy and help to quicken your recovery.

These approaches aid in symptom relief and encourage your body to heal the spine.

Only when other treatments have proven ineffective will we consider a surgical option. When surgery is necessary, the Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital offers a variety of approaches, including minimally invasive spine surgery, to foster a more rapid recovery.

• To reduce swelling, a steroid is injected into the epidural space in the spinal canal
• This procedure is performed under local anesthetic
• Using fluoroscopy (live X-ray imaging), the physician can directly place the needle at the
  pain site
• Although you may experience initial soreness, pain relief follows in 3-4 days

• Used when the facet joints connecting your vertebrae become swollen and irritated
• Inserted into the swollen joint, a steroid injection can often reduce pain and provide relief
• The injection is performed under local anesthesia and fluoroscopy may be utilized
• Although you may experience initial soreness, pain relief follows in 3-4 days
• If orthopedic spine surgery is required, fellowship-trained spine surgeons can perform the most up-to-date, minimally invasive spine surgery required to correct this condition

• The sensory nerve eliciting pain around the facet joint is inhibited by heat that is generated by radio waves, blocking painful signals from reaching the brain
• The treatment is performed under local anesthetic and fluoroscopic guidance is used to aid needle placement
• Once the needle and electrode have been inserted, radiofrequency heat is delivered to the targeted nerve
• When the nerve grows back in 10-12 months, it does so in a way that typically doesn't
  transmit pain

• Used when interventional injections have proven insufficient and to identify the location of the painful disc prior to surgery
• A needle is advanced with fluoroscopic guidance into the disc; the disc is then pressurized to reproduce painful disc symptoms
• The discography procedure takes approximately 30 minutes to perform. Pre-procedural medicine and post-procedural radiology may take up to a total of three hours. The patient will need to arrange post-operative transportation as sedation is used during the procedure

• Vertebroplasty/Kyphoplasty utilizes special cement that's injected through a needle into the collapsed vertebral bone
• Treats compression fractures for patients suffering from osteoporosis only after conservative treatment has failed
• An excellent option for elderly patients with unhealed and painful spinal compression fractures

Many back and neck surgeries at the Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital can be done on an outpatient basis. The use of small incisions and microscopic approaches to the spine promote rapid recovery and shorter stays.

Spinal stenosis or narrowing of the spinal canal is a common degenerative disease of both the cervical and lumbar spine. When nonoperative treatment fails, surgical interventions may be warranted, including laminectomies to decompress the spinal canal.

• Replacement of degenerative, painful discs in the cervical and lumbar spine can now be done with artificial discs. This may be an alternative to spinal fusion for some patients
• Disc replacements are made of metal and plastic
• Advantages include maintenance of normal motion in the cervical and lumbar spine

• Fusion treats painful spinal conditions in the cervical and lumbar spine
• New techniques include minimally invasive approaches with small incisions and percutaneous placement of hardware in the spine
• Use of bone proteins aids fusion and allows for quicker healing and recovery from surgery