Treatments & Services
Listed below is a comprehensive list of services and treatments we offer here at South Texas Pain and Spine. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at any time during business hours.
In-Office Diagnostics
NCV and EMG
NCV is often used along with an EMG to tell the difference between a nerve disorder and a muscle disorder. NCV detects a problem with the nerve, whereas an EMG detects whether the muscle is working properly in response to the nerve's stimulus.
Traumatic Brain Injury Evaluations
Determines a patient's thinking, motor function (movement), sensory function, coordination, eye movement, and reflexes. Imaging tests, including CT scans and MRI scans
Personal Capacity Evaluations
Determines a patient’s ability to safely return to work when they have been off of work for an extended period of time. But they can also be performed to help in determining a baseline for future treatment, when there are noted differences in a patient’s subjective and objective presentation or they have plateaued in their treatment and are no longer making functional gains
PVL Vascular Arterial & Venous Studies
PVL stands for Peripheral Vascular Laboratory. This test is done to check the blood circulation of the specified arteries and/or veins requested by your child's doctor/ medical provider. A venous study is a noninvasive test that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to search for blood clots and assess the blood flow in your arteries and veins.
Diagnostic Ultrasound
Diagnostic ultrasound, also called sonography or diagnostic medical sonography, is an imaging method that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures within your body. The images can provide valuable information for diagnosing and treating a variety of diseases and conditions.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Electroencephalography is a method to record an electrogram of the electrical activity on the scalp that has been shown to represent the macroscopic activity of the surface layer of the brain underneath. It is typically non-invasive, with the electrodes placed along the scalp
Treatments
Epidural Steroid Injections
Epidural steroid injection is a technique in which corticosteroids and a local anesthetic are injected into the epidural space around the spinal cord in an effort to improve spinal stenosis, spinal disc herniation, or both.
Nerve Blocks
A nerve block relieves pain by interrupting how pain signals are sent to your brain. It is done by injecting a substance, such as alcohol or phenol, into or around a nerve or into the spine.
Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation, or RFA, is a minimally invasive technique that shrinks the size of tumors, nodules or other growths in the body. RFA is used to treat a range of conditions, including benign and malignant tumors, chronic venous insufficiency in the legs, as well as chronic back and neck pain.
Spinal Cord Stimulation
Spinal cord stimulation can improve overall quality of life and sleep, and reduce the need for pain medicines. It is typically used along with other pain management treatments, including medications, exercise, physical therapy and relaxation methods.
PRP Therapy
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy uses injections of a concentration of a patient's own platelets to accelerate the healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints. In this way, PRP injections use each individual patient's own healing system to improve musculoskeletal problems.
Verteplasty
In vertebroplasty, bone cement is injected into fractured vertebrae to stabilize the spine and relieve pain. Vertebroplasty is an outpatient procedure for stabilizing compression fractures in the spine. Bone cement is injected into back bones (vertebrae) that have cracked or broken, often because of osteoporosis.
Kyphoplasty
A procedure similar to vertebroplasty, but with the intent of expanding the collapsed vertebra. A surgical instrument is introduced into the spine with a balloon that is inflated to expand the bone. Once this instrument is withdrawn, the space created is then filled with the bone cement mixture. By creating space in this way, kyphoplasty procedures may correct deformity or restore body height.
Percutaneous Discectomy
Percutaneous means "through the skin" or using a very small cut. Discectomy is surgery to remove herniated disc material that is pressing on a nerve root or on the spinal cord. There are many different kinds of percutaneous discectomy procedures. .
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) targets the nerve(s) that transmit pain signals to your brain. PNS involves a tiny implant a wire about the thickness of a human hair or a group of electrodes about the size of a standard paperclip that delivers electrical impulses, similar to a pacemaker, to the nerve.
Injury | Trauma
An injury is damage to your body. It is a general term that refers to harm caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and more. In the U.S., millions of people injure themselves every year. These injuries range from minor to life-threatening. Injuries can happen at work or play, indoors or outdoors, driving a car, or walking across the street. Wounds are injuries that break the skin or other body tissues. They include cuts, scrapes, scratches, and punctured skin.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
If you've been physically or mentally harmed as the result of an accident, whether it's a car wreck, truck accident, or another person's negligence, we can help. Personal injuries can have a number of causes, including bicycle accidents, construction injuries, and even wrongful death.
Shoulder | Elbow | Hand Pain
As the most mobile joint in your body, your shoulder is prone to a variety of conditions that cause pain. Elbow pain typically isn’t serious, but it can be extremely bothersome since you use your elbow for such a wide range of motions. The hand is one of the most complex, sensitive, and nimble parts of your body. The intricate organization of muscles, ligaments, nerves, and bones allows for a wide range of dexterity and movement. Damage to any one of these structures can cause symptoms like pain, numbness, or tingling in your hand.
Hip | Knee | Ankle Pain
Hip, Knee, and Ankle pain is very common among all ages and can cause mild to severe discomfort when performing daily activities such as standing, walking, squatting, bending, and climbing stairs. Overuse injuries can cause pain upon waking up or after prolonged activities. Sudden, acute injuries, such as ankle sprains, knee pain, and hip pain, can occur out of nowhere.
Muscle Injuries
Muscle injuries is a broad term encompassing many pathologies and these are common injuries in both elite and amateur athletes as well as in the general population. Skeletal muscle injuries represent a great part of all traumas in sports medicine, with an incidence from 10% to 55% of all sustained injuries. The muscles and muscle groups more frequently involved are the hamstrings, rectus femoris, and the medial head of the gastrocnemius..
All Other Services
Neck & Back Conditions
Neck pain occurs in the area of the cervical vertebrae in your neck. Pain in your back or neck area can be acute. That means it comes on suddenly and intensely. Chronic pain lasts for weeks, months, or even years.
Herniated Disc
A condition which refers to a problem with a rubbery disc between the spinal bones. This condition occurs when the soft center of a spinal disc pushes through a crack in the tougher exterior casing.
Nerve Pain
Nerve pain, also called neuralgia or neuropathic pain, occurs when a health condition affects the nerves that carry sensation to the brain. It is a particular type of pain that feels different from other kinds of pain.
Neck Pain
Neck pain affects a significant number of individuals. Recent studies have found more than 10% of Americans suffer from neck pain at any given time.
Lower Back Pain
If you're suffering from lower back pain you're not alone. More than 80% of North Americans will at some time in their life suffer from the disabling confines of lower back pain.
Sciatica
Is usually caused when a herniated disk or bone spur in the spine presses on the nerve. Pain originates in the spine and radiates down the back of the leg. Sciatica typically affects only one side of the body.
Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spaces within your spine, which can put pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine. Spinal stenosis occurs most often in the lower back and the neck.
Pinched Nerve
Your aching back, stiff neck or arm and leg pain might be courtesy of a pinched nerve. Nerves in your spine and other parts of your body can be compressed by surrounding tissue, causing pain, numbness and tingling.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems, inherited causes and exposure to toxins. People with peripheral neuropathy generally describe the pain as stabbing, burning or tingling.
Facet Joint Pain
Facet joint syndrome is an arthritis-like condition of the spine that can be a significant source of back and neck pain. It is caused by degenerative changes to the joints between the spine bones. The cartilage inside the facet joint can break down and become inflamed, triggering pain signals in nearby nerve endings.
Spinal Arthritis
Spinal arthritis is inflammation of the facet joints in the spine or sacroiliac joints between the spine and the pelvis. It may be related to wear and tear, autoimmune disorders, infection and other conditions.
Degenerative Disc Disease
This is a condition of the discs between vertebrae with loss of cushioning, fragmentation and herniation related to aging. There may be no symptoms. In some cases, the spine loses flexibility and bone spurs may pinch a nerve root, causing pain or weakness.
Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Myofascial pain syndrome is a chronic pain disorder. In this condition, pressure on sensitive points in your muscles (trigger points) causes pain in the muscle and sometimes in seemingly unrelated parts of your body.
Headaches & Migraines
Headaches cause pain in the head, face, or upper neck, and can vary in frequency and intensity. A migraine is an extremely painful primary headache disorder. Migraines usually produce symptoms that are more intense and debilitating than headaches.