Services
Brier Creek Integrated Pain & Spine offers the following services to our patients.
NOTE: All listed services are available at the Brier Creek and Rocky Mount locations. However, only Medication Management is available at the other locations.
Epidural Steroid Injection
Epidural Steroid Injections (ESI) are typically used to alleviate pain in the neck, arms, back, and legs. This pain is generally caused by inflamed spinal nerves and treats the pain caused by spinal stenosis, spondylosis, or disc herniation. We generally limit the number of ESI to once every 2 months because of the steroids used during the procedure.
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Facet Joint Injection
The facet joints are the small joints at each vertebrae in the spine. The facet joint is a common source of pain
from the neck to the lower back. Like other joints in the body, these joints can become arthritic as well.
The facet injection serves two functions:
- To relieve pain
- Diagnose the location of the pain
Facet injections can be done in the cervical (neck), thoracic, or lumbar spine. After 2 or 3
successful diagnostic tests, facet injections often lead to a longer term pain relief
solution--Radiofrequency Thermal Coagulation (RFTC).
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Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation (RFTC)
RFTC is actually a procedure in which the nerves in the facet joint are burned through the use of heat
generated by electricity. RFTC is used after 2 or 3 test injections have identified the nerve area causing
the pain. The goal with the RFTC procedure is to receive 3-12 months of pain relief at 50% or more. The
coagulated nerves will grow back over the 3-12 month period after which the process will be repeated again.
The RFTC procedure can cause some increased irritation for up to 2 weeks while the burned nerves heal themselves.
The RFTC procedure is not performed by all pain physicians. Before consenting to the procedure, ensure that
your physician has been well trained in a pain fellowship and performs the RFTC frequently.
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Sacroiliac Joint Injection
The sacroiliac joint is a joint that is located at the very lowest part of the lower back. Pain coming
from the SI joint will be felt in the lower back, buttocks, groin, and upper legs. The pain usually comes
about when lifting a heavy object then twisting and may result immediately with a sharp pain in the lower
back. Women are prone to injury in this joint because the ligaments are made loose by the hormones of
pregnancy and by the shape of their pelvis. SI may be the cause of as much as 50% of all back pain.
Even though this is one of the most common causes of lower back pain, many highly trained pain
physicians cannot and do not treat this joint pain because it is difficult to see and access even with
the use of fluoroscopy. This a specialty at Brier Creek Integrated Pain & Spine where fluoroscopic
visualization and the treatment of this joint using test injections and radiofrequency ablation has been advanced.
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