Head Neck & Spine

Sacroiliac Joint Pain generally occurs in the joint between our hip and spine. The pain is felt in and around that area. However, the pain can mimic other serious conditions like a hip problem or herniated disc. However, if the source of the pain is located, treating SI joint pain is fairly easy.

Where does SI Joint pain occur?

The sacroiliac joint is located between the sacrum and iliac bones. It connects our spine to our hips. There are two of these joints and play a vital role in our body’s support and stability, especially while walking or sitting. However, there is a very little amount of motion for the joints. So, if you suffer from an injury or accident in that region, it affects your motion. Even as you get old, the joints wear out and expose ourselves to arthritic and ligaments stiffen. Issues.

What are the symptoms of SI Joint Pain?

As mentioned above, the pain is felt in the lower back and buttock. But it can easily radiate to your groin or upper thighs. Although your joint might be damaged on one side, you feel pain on both sides. Many patients also complain about numbness or weakness in their legs. These symptoms are experienced when you are walking, sitting, or any other work.

The good news is that there are various tests such as X-ray, CT scan, and MRI to confirm SI joints as the source of pain. Then your doctor might decide on either Nonsurgical treatment, joint injection, surgery, etc. depending on your condition.

A Medial Branch Block is a procedure in which anesthetic is injected near a suspicious medial nerve connected to a specific facet joint. If the patient immediately experiences significantly reduction in pain, then they have targeted the problematic facet joint. If not, they inject into another area.

Medial Branch Block is primarily a diagnostic test to find the source of your pain. Once it is confirmed, the patient is eligible for a subsequent treatment called medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy to relieve pain for the long term.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Our neck is most vulnerable during a car crash or a fall. This sudden movement can force our neck into unconventional position and motion. Such neck injuries are called Whiplash. Sudden jerky motion can tear the muscles, ligaments, joints, and bones in our neck. Such a condition is called cervical acceleration/deceleration (CAD) syndrome. This causes a lot of pain and stiffness in your neck and can transform into chronic pain.

The good thing is the condition happens in case of severe accidents or while playing contact sports such as football, hockey, or ruby. Its symptoms are neck pain, reduced mobility of your neck, etc. The symptoms may arise immediately or after a few days. There are several options to help you manage the pain.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Our face has two separate trigeminal nerves, one on each side. These nerves carry pain signals and other sensations to our brain. If for any reason, the nerve is damaged, it can cause a lot of pain. For example, if you start brushing your teeth or shaving, it triggers the trigeminal nerves, which sends pain signals to your brain.

In the beginning, you will have mild sensation, but with time the pain grows, and so does the duration. Then the frequency of these attacks increases. It works in cycles, so you might feel pain for two weeks, and then it is over for a few days before it comes back again. It is diagnosed clinically and there are various treatment options which includes medications and pain management injections.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Our spinal column has a small space for our spinal cord and spinal nerves. When this passage narrows down, causing pressure on our nerves, it is called spinal stenosis. This causes damage to our nerves, and we feel pain. It generally occurs in our neck or lower back.

A person might feel pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness in the area. However, many people don’t feel these symptoms, and with time their condition worsens.

If you are suffering from osteoarthritis or had a recent injury that caused wear and tear in the spine, you are susceptible to spinal stenosis. In the early stage, non-surgical treatment can alleviate the pain. In severe cases, you will have to undergo surgery to widen the gap in your spinal column.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

A laminectomy is a surgery in which doctors remove part of your vertebra that is causing pressure on your nerves. In theory, the surgery should reduce pain on your spine. However, the patient continues to feel pain even after the laminectomy. This condition is known as Post Laminectomy Syndrome.

The cause of this syndrome can be due to many factors. A few common ones are returning nerve root compression and disc herniation. Other natural causes are spinal instability, post-surgical scarring, face joint inflammation, or joint hypermobility.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Any irritation or damage to our nerves can cause back pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve (the largest nerve in our body) is known as Lumbar radiculopathy. It is most commonly referred to as sciatica. The pain is notorious for traveling from our low back through the buttock into our legs.

The condition is caused by a host of different factors such as spinal stenosis, herniated disc, arthritic in our lumbar facet joints, or deformation due to injury or a failed surgery. The initial symptoms of Lumbar radiculopathy include weakness, burning sensations, numbness, pain, and loss of reflex. There are non-surgical options such as epidural steroid injections which helps relieve the pain.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Our spine is formed by small vertebrae (bones) that are cushioned by discs to keep them in shape. These discs are round in the shape of a small pillow with a tough exterior (annulus) to protect the nucleus. These discs are located in between vertebra to act as a shock absorber for our spinal bones.

If the disc is damaged (i.e., slipped, ruptured, or bulged), it is called a herniated disc. This removes the support to our annulus and moves out to the spinal canal, which has very little space. The displaced disc then presses on the spinal nerves, producing pain, which is unbearable in many cases. Herniated discs can occur in any part of our spine is a common cause of pain in our lower back and neck.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

Facet Joint Syndrome is an arthritis-like condition. The facet joints are joints that help stabilize the spine. As we get older, any degenerative change in your spine causes body weight to shift unevenly to your facet joints. This extra weight has its wear and tear on the joints over time. It either thins or breaks down and causes you a lot of pain.

The worst part about Facet joint degeneration is that it is painless until an event trigger. You would feel diffuse pain in your neck or lower back, just above the spine and slowly spread across the body. The pain is typically described as a dull ache. There are various treatments for Facet Joint Syndrome, such as nerve block, physical therapy, facet injections, etc.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.

There is an old saying that old age and back pain goes hand in hand. This is why the elderly don’t pay much attention to their back pain. However, you could also be suffering from tiny cracks in your vertebra. These are small hairline fractures in the spine, and overtime, they add up and can cause your vertebrae to collapse. This is called a spinal compression fracture.

Overtime, there is a visible change to your body. Your spine isn’t straight, you have a wedge-shaped vertebra, and your height is reduced. Moreover, the bones become very weak, and even a small injury will cause you a lot of pain and will take an eternity to heal.

For more information, consult Dr. Stanley O Ikezi, an experienced Double Board Certified Pain Management Specialist in New York City.