Connie Raby has lived with back pain for years.
"The condition originated from having a congenital 36-degree curve, or scoliosis, in my spine. I have also had ... pain to my right hip and groin as a result of my spinal diagnoses," she said.
At 31, Raby had the first of three surgeries for a syrinx, or fluid-filled area, in her spine, which contained a benign tumor.
"Following that surgery, I had two more procedures for subsequent problems."
But it only got worse. Since the operations, she suffered moderate-to-severe lower back and leg pain. She also suffered from discomfort in her hip and groin areas.
Like others with chronic pain, Raby sought relief.
Raby tried epidural steroid injections and radio frequency ablation, a procedure in which radio waves are used to heat a small area of nerve tissue.
"At this point, I am feeling great relief from the radio frequency ablation and epidural steroid injections. I am able to experience most days with just moderate pain and have been able to perform activities of daily living without using narcotic medications," she said.
Dr. Diva Nagula, medical director of Southeast Spine and Rehabilitation Center in Kingsland, who administered the treatments, notes that one advantage in the approach is that it eliminates reliance on potentially addictive medications.
"One myth is pain can only be treated with addictive medications or surgery," Nagula said. "My biggest goal is to try to prevent (patients) from having the need to have major back or neck surgery. "For example, my patients come in with back or leg pain, and 20 to 30 years ago they would (have been) referred to a surgeon." Dr. Michael Lupi, a board certified physician in pain management at Pain Associates of South Georgia in Brunswick and Waycross, says he also had success treating some patients with non-invasive therapies. "We see a lot of pain associated with sciatica, pain radiating down the leg or arm. We see nerves in the legs that are inflamed or irritated, neck nerves where pain radiates into an arm, neck and back," he said. Lupi also uses sacroiliac injections, a steroid that helps to reduce inflammation and pain. "We use epidural steroids, frequently, and facet blocks. The facet joints are located on the back of the spine on each side of the vertebra, where it overlaps the next vertebra," Lupi said. If the facet joints become arthritic or cause patients pain, Lupi tries to block the nerve signals to the brain. "We heat up the nerve with a probe so the nerve no longer functions and it doesn't tell the brain that there is pain," he said. Like Nagula, he also uses radio frequency ablation to destroy, or ablate, a nerve that is causing a patient's pain. "The brain doesn't get the pain signal. The pathway is blocked with an electrode at cord level so it doesn't reach the brain," he said.
