Back & Neck Pain

You can seek care for back or neck pain from your primary care provider, orthopaedic urgent care, or via on-demand video visits. Your physician may use a combination of physical exams, diagnostic tests, and imaging to determine the cause of your back and/or neck pain. Depending on your diagnosis, your provider may refer you to UR Medicine specialists. 

Treating conditions of the spine takes a team of physicians with a wide range of specialties and expertise, including Anesthesiologists, Neurosurgeons, Orthopaedic Surgeons, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation providers.

Spine Center

The UR Medicine Spine Center offers multidisciplinary and comprehensive world class care for spine disorders, injuries, and disease. Our team of over 30 spine providers consists of Internationally and nationally recognized experts who provide interventional procedures, surgical spine management, spine specialized physical therapy, and pain psychologists that function in a multidisciplinary and coordinated care model tailored to your specific needs. We are the only spine management program in the region offering on-site spine x-rays, MRI, CT scans, nerve testing, active exercise-focused spine physical rehabilitation, x-ray guided interventional spine procedures, chronic pain management procedures, pain psychology, and minimally invasive and the most complex spine surgeries. Our approach is to accurately diagnose the reasons for your spine pain and subsequently create an evidence based comprehensive treatment program that addresses every component of your spine condition with the goal of long-term relief and return to an active lifestyle. Our state-of-the-art facilities are housed at the brand new Orthopaedics and Physical Performance Center at Marketplace. Access is a high priority and we can typically provide an appointment with a spine specialist within one week.

Pain Management

The UR Medicine Pain Treatment Center and Neuromedicine Pain Management include a complete team of pain experts if regular medicines and physical therapy do not remove your pain. You customized treatment program may include:

• Nerve block: An injection in your spine that blocks the function of specific nerves that are causing your pain, much like an epidural used for women in labor.
• EMG-guided botulinum injections: The botulinum toxin blocks neurotransmitter messages between your nerves and muscles. This reduces and eliminates muscle spasms. We are studying the use of botulinum toxins to prevent back and neck pain.
• Spinal cord stimulator: A wire electrode is implanted along your spine. Electrical energy is sent into your spinal cord from a stimulation unit. This short-circuits the pain signal that goes from your spinal cord to your brain. It is often used to treat sciatica.
• Pain pump: In cases of hard-to-control pain, your neurosurgeon may implant a pump that delivers pain medicine, such as morphine and anesthetics, to the space around your spinal cord. Pain pumps are used to treat conditions such as chronic pain from scar tissue, axial somatic pain and muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.
• Psychological services: Behavioral and cognitive therapies with our clinical psychologists include bio-feedback, hypnosis, and relaxation therapy. This is an integral part of pain management because chronic pain is a disabling disease and affects the person as a whole.

Surgery

If your physician recommends surgery to treat your back or neck pain, our neurosurgeons and orthopaedic spine surgeons are experts and innovators in the latest minimally invasive procedures. 

UR Medicine surgeons offer every type of spine surgery needed, including:

• Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)
• Cervical laminectomy with discectomy
• Anterior cervical discectomy with fusion
• Cervical decompression with and without fusion
• Thoracic spine surgeries
• Lumbar laminectomies, foraminotomies, decompression and fusion procedures

For patients who need rehabilitation, we also run the Active Spine Program to help you regain your ability to move safely with less pain. Our specialists in the program work closely with your spine physicians as part of your medical team. You, your doctor, and your therapists will work together to develop a care plan that works with your doctor's treatment.