Center for Pain Management

Back & Neck Pain Conditions

Several common back and neck pain conditions include:

Failed Back Surgery Syndrome, more commonly referred to today as Post Laminectomy Syndrome, is the diagnosis made when patients still experience pain after a back or neck surgery. Dr. Kowlowitz is experienced in Spinal Cord Stimulation, an advanced treatment offered by the Center for Pain Management that provides many patients a welcomed option for pain relief rather than additional surgeries.

Degenerative Disc Disease may include bulging or ruptured discs. There are a wide variety of causes including disc protrusions and herniations, or joint disorders, instability, spinal arthritis, ligament and muscle strains, and long-term poor posture.

Facet Syndrome is pain from arthritis of the facet joints — the joints that hold the spine in alignment. Facet pain also can occur as the result of trauma to these joints.

Myofascial Pain is the presence of trigger points (or “knots”) or tender, dense, hyperirritable areas within the muscles. This can develop in soft tissue along the spinal musculature.

Examples of Neuropathic Pain include radiculopathy, sciatica, peripheral neuropathy, post herpetic neuralgia, and complex regional pain syndrome (RSD). Those patients diagnosed with this type of pain often experience burning, electric, shooting or stabbing pains.

Nocioceptive Pain originates in the joints, ligaments or muscles. It is often described as a dull or aching sensation. It can result from trauma, repetitive strain or disc degeneration. Spinal arthritis and muscle aches are examples.

Sciatica is merely a symptom of a problem—of something compressing or irritating the nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve—rather than an actual medical diagnosis or medical disorder.

Spinal Stenosis refers to the narrowing of the canal through which the nerve roots or the spinal cord runs. Individuals with stenosis in the low back often have more pain with standing or walking and less pain when bent forward or sitting. Spinal stenosis can be congenital or caused by disc degeneration, bone spur formation, or instability.

Other common conditions:

• Herniated Disc
• Post Laminectomy Syndrome
• Sacroiliitis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Spondylosis