Minimally-Invasive Spine Care

At Impact Sports & Spine, we provide specialized minimally-invasive care for conditions affecting your spine. When possible, we believe in helping you achieve optimal health without the need for invasive surgical procedures.

Our expert team uses state-of-the-art diagnostic ultrasounds, in addition to conventional imaging like MRI and X-ray, to accurately pinpoint the source of pain in your back and neck. This helps us design a targeted treatment that uses fluoroscopy-guided injections to provide minimally-invasive spinal care.

Our non-surgical treatments are designed to promote your body's natural repair process. These image-guided treatments facilitate faster recovery by minimizing trauma to your spine and surrounding tissues through precise and accurate administration of medication.

We focus on not only alleviating your symptoms but also targeting the underlying causes of your neck and back issues.

Fluoroscopy-Guided Injections for Spinal Care

Fluoroscopy-guided injections are a precise and effective method for treating various conditions affecting your spine. This technique uses fluoroscopy, a form of X-ray imaging, to provide real-time dynamic visualization of internal structures.

Fluoroscopy-guided injections are particularly beneficial for deeper joints or areas that require a more intricate approach. We use fluoroscopy-guidance for spine injections to treat musculoskeletal conditions affecting the spine. It helps us administer medications directly into the affected area of the spine, such as nerves, joints, or discs, that may be causing pain or dysfunction.

Types of fluoroscopy-guided spine injections we provide include:

Epidural Injections: Epidural injections deliver corticosteroids or orthobiologics directly into the epidural space surrounding the spinal cord and nerve roots. It helps reduce inflammation and alleviates pain caused by conditions such as herniated discs, spinal stenosis, or radiculopathy.
Facet Joint Injections: These injections target the small joints located between each vertebra, called facet joints, that can become inflamed and painful due to arthritis or injury. Facet joint injections may include corticosteroids or orthobiologics to reduce pain and inflammation.
Sacroiliac Joint Injections: Injecting medication into the sacroiliac joint, which connects the base of the spine to the pelvis, can alleviate pain caused by conditions like sacroiliitis or sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

Benefits Of Fluoroscopy-Guided Injections

Advantages of fluoroscopy-guided injections include:

Precision in medication administration: It uses real-time imaging to ensure accurate needle placement and medication delivery.
Safe and effective procedure: It minimizes the risk of complications by avoiding nearby structures such as nerves and blood vessels, improving treatment outcomes.
Immediate feedback: It allows immediate adjustments during the procedure, enhancing precision and safety.

Ultrasound-Guided Injections

Besides fluoroscopy-guided spinal injections, we also provide ultrasound-guided injections for minimally-invasive care. Ultrasound-guided injections use real-time imaging to precisely administer medication to the exact location of an affected tissue or joint.

Ultrasound guidance is commonly employed for administering various therapeutic substances, such as cortisone (steroid) injections, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, and hyaluronic acid injections, directly to the source of pain or inflammation.

During the procedure, we place a sterile gel onto your skin where the pain is located. We place the ultrasound probe near the source of the injury. The ultrasound signals are translated into an image projected onto a screen. From there we insert a thin needle to precisely the area needed, using the ultrasound images as a map. Once in place, we inject the medication.

Administering ultrasound-guided injections requires a high level of expertise and specialized training, as it involves accurately interpreting ultrasound images to guide needle placement. Our expert and experienced doctors ensure that the needle is positioned with pinpoint accuracy, reducing the risk of complications and enhancing the treatment's efficacy while lessening pain in the recovery period.

Unlike traditional blind injections, which rely on anatomical landmarks and palpation, ultrasound-guided injections use real-time continuous imaging to visualize the target area and surrounding structures. This ensures we deliver medication exactly where it’s needed for superior therapeutic effects.

Benefits Of Ultrasound-Guided Injections

Ultrasound-guided treatments offer a safe, effective, and minimally-invasive solution for various conditions. The benefits of ultrasound-guided injections include:

Enhanced accuracy. Real-time ultrasound visualization of muscles, tendons, and joints allows for the precise administration of medication at the injection site. This helps maximize medication delivery and minimize the risk of complications like nerve damage or misplaced injections.
Minimally-invasive: Ultrasound-guided injections are minimally-invasive procedures compared to surgery. Since these injections do not require making any cuts or incisions, they result in faster recovery times and reduced risk of infection.
Reduced discomfort: Ultrasound itself is a painless procedure. Additionally, the precise needle placement can minimize discomfort during the injection itself.
Lack of radiation exposure. It provides imaging without radiation exposure, making it safe for repeated injections if needed.
Safe identification of surrounding structures. It shows detailed imaging of nerves, arteries, veins, and other tissues to avoid inadvertent injection, which improves safety.
Better patient outcomes. Compared to blind injections, ultrasound-guided injections significantly increase favorable patient response rates for your conditions.

Ultrasound-Guided Injections Vs. Fluoroscopy-Guided Injections

The technique used for your case is determined based on the specific needs of the procedure and your condition.

Imaging Modality: Ultrasound uses sound waves, while fluoroscopy uses X-rays.
Visualization: Ultrasound offers detailed soft tissue images, while fluoroscopy provides continuous real-time imaging guidance for deeper spine injections.
Applications: Ultrasound is versatile for superficial and dynamic assessments, such as joints. On the other hand, fluoroscopy is optimal for deeper structures and precise targeting in procedures like the spine.
Radiation Exposure: Ultrasound-guided injections involve no radiation exposure, while fluoroscopy-guided injections use low levels of X-ray radiation. For patients who may be concerned about even minimal radiation exposure, ultrasound-guided injections may be preferred.

Other Minimally-Invasive Treatments We Offer

In addition to image-guided injections, we also offer other non-surgical procedures to effectively treat your back pain.

Hydrodissection

Hydrodissection involves the precise injection of a solution, typically a sterile fluid such as saline or local anesthetic, into the targeted area around nerves, muscles, tendons, or ligaments. This combination of D5W with a low concentration of local anesthetic separates and releases adhesions around nerves, muscles, or tendons.

This technique helps alleviate compression, reduce inflammation, and improve mobility by creating space between inflamed tissues.

Hydrodissection is an effective procedure to treat conditions such as:

Peripheral Nerve Entrapments: We use hydrodissection to relieve pressure on nerves that may be compressed or entrapped by surrounding tissues, ligaments, or bones. Hydrodissection is an effective procedure to treat chronic nerve pain in the spine.
Tendonitis and Tendon Tears: By separating inflamed tissues from adjacent structures, hydrodissection helps reduce inflammation and promote healing in tendons affected by conditions like tendonitis or partial tears.
Muscle Tightness: Hydrodissection may be used to address muscle tightness or spasms by improving blood flow and reducing muscle tension.

Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine helps treat various spinal conditions by promoting tissue repair through your body’s natural healing processes. It uses biological materials, such as adipose (fat) cells, platelets, growth factors, and bone marrow, to stimulate regeneration and restore function in diseased or injured tissues.

Regenerative treatments offered at Impact Sports & Spine include:

Prolotherapy: This technique involves injecting an irritant, usually dextrose, into damaged ligaments or tendons to stimulate localized inflammation. It prompts the body's healing response to strengthen and repair weakened connective tissues.
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP): PRP therapy involves using concentrated platelets derived from the blood to promote healing and tissue regeneration.
Microfragmented Adipose Transfer: It involves harvesting fat tissue from your body, processing it to concentrate reparative cells, and then injecting it into areas in need of repair and mechanical support.
Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate (BMAC): BMAC is derived from the bone marrow, which contains stem cells and growth factors. It is then injected into damaged tissues or joints to promote tissue repair, reduce inflammation, and support long-term healing.

Benefits of Minimally-Invasive Care

At Impact Sports & Spine, we offer comprehensive, minimally-invasive care that prioritizes your well-being and optimal outcomes.

Our non-surgical treatment options are always preceded by thorough evaluations that seek to identify the root cause of musculoskeletal concerns affecting your spine.

Our approach uses the body's natural healing mechanisms to stimulate tissue repair, which, unlike surgical procedures, helps preserve natural joint structures. This results in reduced recovery times, less post-procedure discomfort, and a lower risk of complications.

Ideal Candidates for Minimally-Invasive Care

Our minimally-invasive care may be indicated if you are:

Seeking to avoid surgery
Aiming to return to sports or physical activity
Experiencing joint degeneration or disc issues
Suffering from chronic back pain, neck pain, or joint pain

We use image-guided treatments to address various musculoskeletal conditions affecting your spine. Our image-guided treatments include:

Steroid injections to reduce inflammation
PRP therapy to stimulate tissue healing
Viscosupplementation to treat osteoarthritis and improve joint lubrication
Joint injections to address pain in the back

Minimally-Invasive Spine Care at Impact Sports & Spine

Our minimally-invasive spine care helps alleviate your symptoms while also addressing the underlying cause and supporting long-term healing and functional improvements.

At Impact Sports & Spine, we focus on providing high-quality non-surgical care for acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries and spinal conditions. Our team focuses on uncovering the root cause of your condition rather than merely treating the symptoms.

To schedule a consultation with our skilled practitioners, call us at 301-363-9693 or request an appointment online.