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Labette Health

Patient Education

PMR topics

A directory of spine topics covered in the Labette Health patient education materials.

  • Braces for your back

    Your doctor may prescribe a brace for you to wear after a spinal injury or surgery. It will immobilize your spine while you heal and will control pain by restricting your movement. Common back braces include the thoracic-lumbar-sacral brace (TLSO) and the lumbarsacral brace (LSO).

  • Braces for cervical-thoracic spine

    Injuries or fusion surgeries involving the neck and upper back require a cervical-thoracic brace to restrict movement. This rigid brace has a plastic padded chest jacket in two pieces, a front and back piece, fastened with Velcro straps. Supports for the chin and head arise from the chest jacket.

  • Braces for your neck

    Your doctor may prescribe a neck brace for you to wear after a spinal injury or surgery. It will immobilize your head while you heal and will control pain by restricting your movement. Common neck braces include the soft cervical collar, Miami J collar, and Vista Multi-post.

  • Chiropractic care

    Chiropractic medicine aims to improve health by restoring structure and function to the spine and other joints. Stress, accidents, overexertion, or other injuries may cause minor displacement of the spinal vertebra. When a vertebra is displaced, muscle tension or irritation to spinal nerves can result, causing pain (e.g., neck, back, headache).

  • Epidural steroid injection (ESI)

    An epidural steroid injection (ESI) can help relieve neck, arm, back, and leg pain caused by inflamed spinal nerves due to stenosis, spondylolysis, or disc herniation. Medicines are delivered to the epidural space, which is a fat-filled area between the bone and the protective sac of the spinal nerves. Pain relief may last for several days or even years.

  • Exercises: back stretches and strengthening

    Exercise is a vital part of treating the spine after injury or surgery. Active therapeutic exercises distribute nutrients into the disc space, joints and soft tissues in the back. A regular exercise routine helps patients improve mobility and strength, minimize recurrence, and reduces the severity and duration of possible future episodes of back pain.

  • Exercises: core strengthening

    Your core muscles support your spine. The muscles in your abdomen and back - which we call the "core" - are central to your everyday spine health. They are at the heart of any fitness plan to strengthen a healthy or ailing back. Just as you protect your heart through cardiovascular exercises, you will benefit from strengthening your back through core exercises.

  • Exercises: neck stretches and strengthening

    Exercise is a vital part of treating the spine after injury or surgery. Active therapeutic exercises distribute nutrients into the disc space, joints and soft tissues in the back. A regular exercise routine helps patients improve mobility and strength, minimize recurrence, and reduces the severity and duration of possible future episodes of neck and arm pain.

  • Joint injections

    A steroid injection can temporarily relieve pain caused by an inflamed joint due to arthritis, injury, or degeneration. The procedure has two purposes. First, it can be used as a diagnostic test to see if the pain is actually coming from the joint. Second, it can be used as a treatment to relieve inflammation and pain.

  • Nerve block injection test

    A nerve block injection can temporarily relieve back pain. The procedure is used as a diagnostic test to determine if the pain is actually coming from the medial branch nerve near the facet joint. If the block is successful, then a radiofrequency ablation may be recommended.

  • Nerve radiofrequency ablation

    Radiofrequency ablation is a procedure that destroys the nerve fibers carrying pain signals to the brain. It can provide lasting relief for people with chronic pain in the lower back, neck and arthritic joints. If you suffer recurrent pain and have had good relief with a nerve block injection, you may be a candidate for an Rf ablation.

  • Occipital nerve block injection

    An occipital nerve block injection can help relieve headache and neuralgia pain at the back of the skull. Sometimes numbing the occipital nerve blocks the pain signals and reduces chronic headache. The effects of a nerve block tend to be temporary. If successful, a radiofrequency ablation may be recommended for longer pain relief.

  • Pain management

    Acute pain starts suddenly and improves over time with healing. Chronic pain persists and is often present in ongoing conditions such as arthritis or cancer. Pain management is an integrated approach to making pain tolerable by learning coping skills. This may include exercise, physical therapy, medication, holistic therapies, and counseling.

  • Pain pump (intrathecal)

    A pain pump delivers medication directly to the spinal cord. The system uses a small pump that is surgically placed under the skin of your abdomen. The pump sends medication through a catheter to the space around the spinal cord. Symptoms can be controlled with a smaller dose than is needed with oral medication.

  • Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R)

    Physiatry, also called physical medicine and rehabilitation, is a medical specialty that seeks to promote healing of patients who have suffered stroke, brain or spine injury. They also treat acute and/or chronic pain and musculoskeletal injuries. Many specialize in treating back and neck pain.

  • Physical therapy

    Physical therapy is a nonsurgical approach to maintaining, restoring, and improving overall physical health. Pain-free mobility is crucial for independence, earning a living, and quality of life. A physical therapist can help people recover from an injury, disease, or surgery. PT may even help you avoid surgery altogether.

  • Posture and body mechanics

    Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities. The spine's curves work like a coiled spring to absorb shock, maintain balance, and to facilitate the full range of motion.

  • Self care for neck & back pain

    Eight out of 10 people will suffer from back or neck pain at some point in their life. Acute pain is abrupt, intense pain that subsides after a period of days or weeks. Here are some tips to help you recover from acute back or neck pain — and when to see a specialist.

  • Spinal cord stimulation

    Spinal cord stimulation masks pain signals before they reach the brain. A small device, similar to a pacemaker, delivers electrical pulses to the spinal cord. It helps people better manage their chronic pain and reduce their use of opioid medications. It may be an option if you suffer chronic back, leg or arm pain.

  • Sympathetic nerve block

    A lumbar sympathetic block is an injection of a local anesthetic that can help relieve chronic leg and foot pain caused by conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, vascular insufficiency, and shingles. Medications are delivered to the sympathetic nerves – a cluster of nerve cell bodies – along the front side of the spine.

  • Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation

    Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a noninvasive device placed on the skin that can help control pain. Use of this small, battery-operated device can block pain signals from reaching the brain and potentially reduce pain medication. TENS does not cure or eliminate the cause of pain.