The spine is a complex structure. Through our diagnostic services, we can help identify the cause of spine-related pain. Through our therapeutic services, we can then treat it.

Diagnostic and imaging services:

• X-ray
• CT scan
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Bone scan
• Electromyography (EMG)
• Nerve conduction studies (NCS)
• Diagnostic spinal injections including facet nerve blocks, selective spinal nerve root blocks, and provocative discograms

Our imaging experts are readily available for interpretation and consultation on your studies. We also offer specialized services for our pediatric and adult patients who may need sedation for their imaging, and a non-claustrophobic MRI.

Therapeutic services

• Therapeutic injections such as interlaminar and transforaminal epidural steroid injections, facet joint, and sacroiliac joint injections
• Radiofrequency ablation of the facet nerves
• Vertebral augmentation of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures with a special cement
• Implantable pain management devices including spinal cord stimulators and drug delivery systems
• Percutaneous intradiscal procedures

When chronic pain can’t be reduced by conventional medical treatment or physical therapy, patients are candidates for comprehensive pain management.

Penn State Spine Center has anesthesiologists, surgeons, interventional neuroradiologists, physiatrists, physical therapists, and other specialists working closely together. Our goal is to decrease pain and improve the function and quality of life of our patients.

Board-certified pain management physicians and highly-trained nurses provide:

• Comprehensive evaluation including diagnostic studies as necessary
• Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
• Recommendations for medical management
• Referrals to other specialists
• Referral to a multi-disciplinary pain rehabilitation program with a strong emphasis on behavioral modification and self-directed treatments
• Patient education

Our patients are evaluated in conjunction with our spine surgeons. This reduces redundancy and saves time for our patients. We also coordinate our treatment with primary care physicians to provide information on lifestyle changes like weight reduction and smoking cessation. This promotes self-management techniques and decreases the reliance on healthcare facilities.

Rehabilitation includes the use of non-surgical treatment to manage pain, restore function, and to prevent the reoccurrence of neck and back pain. 

Our Spine Center specialists in rehabilitation medicine, called physiatrists, work closely with orthopaedic surgeons, neurological surgeons, and pain management specialists. Therapeutic exercises combined with medications and other treatment advances may help you keep an active lifestyle. We’ll craft a treatment plan that helps you stay as active as possible.

Our services:

• McKenzie-trained physical therapists
• Orthotics and bracing
• Aquatic therapy in a state-of-the-art therapy pool
• Back school
• Post-operative rehabilitation
• Functional capacity evaluations
• Acute and early interventions for neck and back pain
• Return to work evaluations
• Independent medical examinations
• Impairment rating evaluations
• Case reviews
• Medico-legal reviews

Fortunately, most patients with spine problems do not require invasive surgical treatment. For those patients that do, the Penn State Spine Center has a team of well-trained and experienced surgeons who can provide surgical treatment.

From simple, routine outpatient procedures to complex spinal reconstruction, our surgeons have the tools to manage all forms of spine pathology.

Our surgeons perform well-established procedures that have proven their effectiveness over many years. In addition, they strive to stay at the forefront of new technologies and procedures that may revolutionize they way spine conditions are treated.

Ongoing collaboration with industry leaders gives our surgeons the opportunity to enroll patients in research studies as well as to participate in new technology and product development.