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Types of Pain – Spine, Chest, Hand, Foot

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Spine Pain

Spine pain can be located in the neck, in the thoracic region between your shoulder blades or in the low back.

Symptoms of spine pain include the following:

  • Severe pain in the neck, between the shoulder blades or in the low back. It can be more on the right or left side or can be in the center of your back or neck.
  • Pain that travels down the arm, into the chest wall or down one or both legs.
  • Weakness, numbness or tingling in the arms or legs.

Causes for Spine Pain

  • Disc herniation: There are 7 vertebral levels in your neck, 12 vertebral levels in your thoracic spine and five lumbar segments. Between each level there is a disc that can herniated or rupture. When this happens, it can cause pain in the spine and pain that travels down the arm, the leg or around the chest wall.
  • Disc Degeneration: Over time, the discs in between the spine can wear out due to normal wear and tear or due to injury.
  • Arthritis: There are small joints in the human spine called facets. The facets are located at each level and on each side of the spine. As a result, there are many areas where the spine can have arthritis, similar to arthritis in a knee or hip. These degenerative arthritic changes can be a part of normal aging, trauma or a long history of heavy lifting.
  • Vertebral Compression Fracture: As we age, it is common to lose bone density. When the density of bone in your spine weakens too much, a vertebral compression fracture can occur. This can result in sudden back pain that is severe. This type of compression fracture can also occur with trauma, such as a motor vehicle accident.

How Is Spine Pain Treated?

  • Epidural Steroid Injections, facet injections or medial branch blocks
  • Radiofrequency (RF) Rhizotomy for facet disease
  • Spinal Cord Stimulation

Chest Wall Pain

Chest wall pain can result from several common medical problems that include the following:

  • A broken rib
  • Shingles
  • Prolonged pain after a shingles infection
  • A ruptured disk in the thoracic spine

How Is Chest Wall Pain Treated?

Chest wall pain can get better even if you do not know the cause. Your doctor may explore medical tests when indicated. Your doctor may send you to us for these sorts of procedures:

  • Intercostal Neurolytic Blocks
  • Epidural Steroid Injections
  • Trigger point injections
  • Spinal Cord Stimulation

Hand and Foot Pain

How Is Hand Pain And Foot Pain Treated?

Your referring doctor may treat these problems or send you to another physician for treatment. These are some procedures that your doctor may send you to us for:

  • Lumbar Sympathetic Nerve Block (LE)
  • Stellate Ganglion Block (UE)
  • Spinal Cord Stimulation
  • Epidural Steroid Injection
  • Selective Nerve Root Block
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