Mid-Back Conditions and Treatments in Northern New Jersey
Referred to as the thoracic region of the spine, the middle back is prone to pain from a variety of conditions. If you are living with such symptoms, Dr. Thomas Ragukonis at Bergen Pain Management can help. Consistently named an NJ Top Doc, he serves New Jersey from locations in Paramus, West New York, and Union with compassionate, cutting-edge care to relieve mid-back pain and improve each patient’s quality of life.
Middle Back Conditions We Treat
Mid-back pain stems from a wide range of potential causes. When you choose Bergen Pain Management, you can be confident you’ll receive an accurate diagnosis for your condition, serving as a starting point for treatment. Dr. Ragukonis treats mid-back conditions such as:
Disc Injuries
Spinal discs are soft, jelly-like materials that absorb shock in the spine. As disc walls weaken, the inner material may slip or bulge outward and put pressure on nearby nerves. If the disc wall tears completely through, it is known as a herniation.
Degenerative Disc Disease
Spinal discs are known to degenerate with age, causing a loss in flexibility and leading to stiffness, aches, and an inability to absorb shock and avoid injury.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
CRPS is a rare chronic pain condition. When an injury or surgery causes extensive nerve damage, the pain signals may be disproportionate to the discomfort expected from the original injury. The pain may also continue long after the initial injury heals.
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS)
FBSS describes persistent symptoms patients experience after back or neck surgery. Patients and their surgeons have an expected outcome from the surgery-that their spine pain would be minimized or eliminated-and in many cases, that outcome does not happen. This can lead to extensive scar tissue, spinal instability, stiffness, and sometimes even more pain. Post laminectomy syndrome is a common variation that specifically arises after a failed laminectomy.
Facet Syndrome
To prevent excessive twisting and keep the spine stable, your vertebrae are braced by a series of facet joints. Each joint is surrounded by cartilage to allow smooth motion. As this cartilage breaks down, the resulting stiffness and pain are known as facet syndrome.
Radiculopathy
Radiculopathy refers to any condition that irritates or compresses a nerve, whether it’s a slipped disc, a bone spur, or any other cause. The irritation disrupts sensory signals, causing burning pain, tingling, or numbness that radiate out from the source.
Degenerative Joint Disease
Also called osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease occurs as spinal cartilage degrades due to wear and tear. It causes pain and stiffness and is among the most common spinal conditions.
Thoracic Sprain
A network of connective tissues, called ligaments, is responsible for connecting and stabilizing the spinal joints. When one is stretched or torn, often due to trauma, the resulting damage is called a sprain.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
This nervous disorder is more commonly called RSD and occurs after an injury, stroke, or heart attack, resulting in damage to the sympathetic nervous system. RSD causes pain far more severe than expected from the original injury.
Our Solutions For Mid-Back Pain
Dr. Ragukonis is proficient in a wide range of cutting-edge, minimally invasive procedures to relieve pain in the middle of the back (thoracic spine). These include:
- Vertiflex
- Discography
- Kyphoplasty
- Vertebroplasty
- Intrathecal pumps
- Laser facet rhizotomy
- Spinal cord stimulator
- Epidural lysis of adhesions
- Minimally invasive spine fusion
- Facet joint injections and thermal ablation
- Decompression, discectomy, and foraminotomy
- Caudal, interlaminar, and transforaminal steroid injections