McHenry Business Journal

Weekly Beacon: Healthy Living
November 14, 2001
By John Prunskis, M.D.

Back pain- state of the art treatment

If you have low back or leg pain, discography, a procedure used by Dr. Prunskis, and other physicians at Illinois Pain Treatment Institute (IPI), may be recommended for precise diagnostic purposes.

Discography is a procedure performed in a sterile environment utilizing w-ray guidance. Before the procedure, a patient will receive intravenous sedation, pain medication and antibiotic. Then, a needle, guided through an X-ray machine, is inserted and a small amount of contrast liquid is injected into the disc. Any abnormality in the disc will be seen on the X-ray machine. After several discs have been injected with contrast material, X-rays are taken to document the entire procedure.

Discography is interpreted by a number of factors. These include: 1. The amount of fluid and pressure that can be injected into the disc. 2. Whether injection into a particular disc reproduces the same pain that brings you to see the physician. 3. The appearance of the disc on the subsequent X-ray pictures. 

Once the doctor has the results of your discogram, he will interpret the information and make recommendations will be discussed extensively with you. Soreness and increased spasms may occur after this test, but usually passes within a few days. Pain medication and muscle relaxants may be prescribes to ease the side effects.

After discography, if indicated, the physicians at Illinois Pain treatment Institute may recommend a relatively new procedure called “IntraDiscal Electro Thermal Therapy (IDET). IDET is a new outpatient procedure for the treatment of patients with degenerative or other disc disease. Previously, patients might have needed surgery with a much longer recovery period.

Degenerative disc is a term used to describe “breakdown of a spinal disc which may predispose a person to development of problems. It may also result from trauma, repeated spine injuries, smoking and to some degree, the aging process."  

Low back and leg pain is often due to damage to one or more of the disks in the spine. IDET uses heat to change the structure of the tissue inside the disk. It doesn’t relieve the pain immediately. Pain is reduced as the disk heals. After healing, the disk may also be stronger and more stable.

The IDET procedure may take up to two hours. The patient will be awake and relaxed. The doctor will ask questions during the procedure which helps him of her control any pain. After the procedure the patient will remain in the recovery room for about an hour. Your physician at Illinois Pain Treatment Institute will continually assess your condition during regularly scheduled follow up visits. He/she will guide you regarding rehabilitation exercises after your procedure and discuss your return to work plan.