If you’re tired of dealing with your chronic back pain, and conservation treatment options haven’t provided any relief – or any long-lasting relief – then it might be time to look into Intracept. Also known as basivertebral nerve ablation, this treatment option finally helps patients to enjoy relief from low back pain. The Texas Pain Care team are experts at using Intracept to comfortably and reliably treat low back pain, affording patients the relief they’ve been missing. Explore Chronic Back Pain Treatment in Texas for lasting relief.
Intracept procedure treats vertebrogenic (low back) pain, which is pain caused by damage to the vertebral endplates. Vertebral endplates are the top and bottom edges of the vertebrae in the front portion of the spinal column. There are a significant number of pain receptors in your endplates, which are connected to a nerve inside the vertebra called the basivertebral nerve. Daily wear and tear, as well as injury and certain medical conditions, can cause these endplates to degenerate, which causes pain and discomfort.
The process involves using radiofrequency energy to ablate, or heat and kill, the nerve that is transmitting pain signals to your brain. When the nerve is ablated, the pain signals in the damaged discs in the lower back don’t reach the brain, which results in a reduced or eliminated feeling of low back pain.
Vertebrogenic pain is felt in the low back and often worsens when sitting for prolonged periods of time, bending forward, or with intense or repeated physical activity. Pain is often described as deep burning or aching in the low back or middle of the back, with a chance of pain being felt in other areas of the body as well.
Due to the fact that vertebrogenic pain is caused by use – and overuse – of the vertebral endplates, it’s difficult to prevent. This is why it’s so important to seek the help of a trained pain management specialist who can properly diagnose and treat the source of pain so that you can experience pain relief.
If you’ve endured treatments for low back pain without enjoying relief, physical therapy isn’t working, you prefer to avoid taking medications regularly, or your pain management specialist hasn’t determined a definite cause of your chronic back pain, basivertebral nerve ablation could work for you.
Vertebral endplate nerve dysfunction can often be misdiagnosed because the source of pain is not widely recognized. However, if you’ve had lower back pain for six months or longer, have tried conservative treatment at least for six months, and have been told that your pain is due to a disc problem or something undiagnosable, then Intracept might help.
The Texas Pain Care team will always recommend non-surgical treatments, such as medications and physical therapy, to see if that helps to relieve pain. If not, then Intracept could be the next best option.
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As a minimally-invasive procedure, basivertebral nerve ablation offers patients a quick and comfortable solution for low back pain. The goal is to target and treat the basivertebral nerve, which is often the source of chronic low back pain. After the pain management specialist numbs the treatment area with a local anesthetic, he/she will use X-ray imaging to position a small needle into the vertebral area, applying a heat probe on the targeted nerve, using radiofrequency energy to cripple the nerve ending. Since the treatment is so fine-tuned, it only destroys the exact portion of the nerve that is transmitting pain signals to the brain.
The entire procedure takes anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes. Patients are able to resume their normal lifestyle activities the day after the procedure. Pain relief is most often experienced anywhere from two to six weeks after surgery, with significant improvements felt around the three-month mark. Most patients enjoyed pain relief for a period of at least five years.
The main benefit of basivertebral nerve ablation is that patients can experience long-term results without having to undergo major surgery with a longer and more painful recovery period. Because the basivertebral nerve doesn’t regenerate like other nerves, there should be no need to repeat the procedure. This means that one treatment should provide the patient with permanent or semi-permanent pain relief. The majority of patients reported pain relief within six weeks after surgery, and pain relief that lasted for at least five years.
Due to the fact that the basivertebral treatment is minimally invasive, the risks are low. Risks, when experienced, include infection and bleeding at the incision site, nerve injury or possible allergic reactions. Serious complications are very rare. It is important to note that basivertebral nerve ablation is becoming increasingly popular as a treatment option for patients who are experiencing chronic low back pain.
Intracept is a great option for patients who are experiencing low back pain who have yet to find relief without undergoing surgery. The main advantages of basivertebral nerve ablation are that the minimally-invasive procedure provides a long-term – and most often a one-time – treatment option that boasts both a short recovery time and significant improvements in pain reduction.
If you have previously tried more conservative pain management options for at least six months, are not a candidate for surgery or would like to avoid surgery, and prefer to avoid taking pain medications long term, then basivertebral nerve ablation could help you achieve a pain-free lifestyle once again.
Chronic low back pain can seriously impinge a person’s quality of life. Rather than deal with chronic pain, why not treat it? It’s important to place your trust in a team who invests in and believes in the advancements of medicine, and recommends only the best treatment options for each patient with a goal to provide him/her with the needed pain relief to enjoy the best quality of life possible. Call or click to schedule an appointment with the Texas Pain Care team in the Houston, Sugarland or Missouri City areas today.
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