Most of us experience temporary neck or back pain from time to time. It’s normal to feel sore or stiff after hours weeding the garden, or during the ninth month of pregnancy. But if your symptoms are constant or severe — and you also have numbness, tingling, weakness, or pain that radiates down your arms or legs — it may be time to see an orthopedic specialist.

Back and Neck Problems We Treat

Our orthopedic doctors and surgeons offer expert care for problems that affect the vertebrae, spinal discs, nerves, or tissues in your neck and back.

  • Deformities. We offer complete care for spinal deformities that occur at birth or develop over time. These include scoliosis and kyphosis.
  • Degenerative disc disorders. Our specialists treat problems that occur when the spinal discs dry out, shrink, crack, or tear. These conditions include herniated discs and spinal stenosis.
  • Injuries. We treat mild and severe back or neck injuries including whiplash, muscle strains, and fractured or dislocated vertebrae.
  • Medical conditions. We’ll help you manage medical conditions that can affect the spine. These include ankylosing spondylitis and arthritis.
  • Nerve pain. We treat a range of conditions and injuries that cause nerve pain, numbness, or weakness. These include sciatica and spondylolisthesis.

Partnering to Provide Personalized Care

Our orthopedic physicians and surgeons work closely with other specialists to make sure you receive an accurate diagnosis and advanced treatment.

A successful treatment plan starts with finding the source of your neck or back pain. Depending on the type and severity of your symptoms, you may need imaging tests or other diagnostic procedures such as electromyography (EMG) or nerve conduction studies.

Once we have pinpointed the cause of your pain, you may see providers who specialize in neurosurgery, orthopedic rehabilitation, physiatry, or rheumatology. Together we will find solutions for your symptoms, so you feel like yourself again.

Nonsurgical Neck and Back Treatments

If your pain is persistent but mild — or you need short-term care for an injury — you may find relief with lifestyle changes or other nonsurgical therapies. These include:

  • Weight loss. Shedding extra weight takes pressure off your spine.
  • Orthopedic rehabilitation. Physical therapists teach exercises to strengthen muscles or improve flexibility and range of motion. They may also offer therapies such as muscle massage, heat packs, or cold compresses.
  • Medical devices. We use equipment such as neck collars and back braces to help provide stability after an injury.
  • Medicine. Prescription and over-the-counter medicines can help control pain or muscle spasms.
  • Injected therapies. We use injections of certain medicines to help reduce pain and inflammation. These include cortisone injections (steroid shots), nerve block injections, trigger point injections, and facet injections.

Orthopedic Spine Surgery

If conservative treatments don’t bring relief or stop working, your doctor may recommend back or neck surgery. A surgical procedure may offer the best chance of relieving your symptoms — and returning you to your favorite activities.

We offer the full range of safe, state-of-the-art procedures to treat neck and back pain. And whenever possible, our orthopedic surgeons use the least invasive methods for the best possible results.

Our area of expertise covers all back and neck surgery including artificial disc replacement, discectomy, kyphoplasty, vertebroplasty, laminectomy, and spinal fusion.