Spine pain can be located in the neck, in the thoracic region between your shoulder blades or in the low back. Chronic spine pain can be a very debilitating problem for those suffering in pain. There are common causes for spine pain which include car accidents, falls, and on the job injuries. Sometimes there isn’t a clear cause for a person’s pain. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot have a painful problem. Obtaining the correct diagnosis is one of the focal points of Utah Pain Specialists. Once the correct diagnosis is made, a treatment may be available to improve or eliminate a patient’s spine pain. There are several different treatments offered by Utah Pain Specialists that are not available through your primary care doctor or through your surgeon. Our treatments are performed in our office and do not require general anesthesia. It is also a primary goal to minimize pain; both your current pain and any discomfort you may experience with any medical procedure we offer for a painful problem.

• 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.

• 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.
• Pain after surgery. Unfortunately, spine pain can persist after a spine surgery, even when there were no complications. When pain persists after surgery, Utah Pain Specialists can be a resource for post surgical pain.
• 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? Medical tests may not show the cause of your spine pain. Many times, the cause of spine pain is never known. Spine pain can get better even if you do not know the cause. We offer injection and non injection therapy to treat chronic spine pain. Possible treatment options and treatment injections that might be beneficial, which will be decided upon pending examination and evaluation by your physician:

• Epidural Steroid Injections
• Radiofrequency (RF) Rhizotomy
• Spinal Cord Stimulation
• Vertebroplasty

At Utah Pain Specialists, we strive to provide medical care at the highest quality with physicians that are fellowship trained and Board Certified. Dr. Matsumura, Dr. Rajagopal and Dr. Shah have certified under the American Board of Medical Specialties, the same board certification system that credentials your Internal Medicine Doctor, Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Neurosurgeon.