1. Elimination of chronic dependency on medical systems and resources

Spinal pain and disability costs society literally billions of dollars per year.
Fortunately, most patients with spinal pain and injury get better without a lot of help from the doctor. Still, 1 out of 10 patients will develop chronic pain and decreased quality of life that requires ongoing medical attention and possible surgery. Previously, many of these patients wound up in “pain clinics” for long periods of time, receiving habit forming drugs and repeated short term injections with little or no long term benefit. When treatment stopped, pain returned. Some patients faced the risk and expense of spinal surgery only to experience recurrent symptoms, and often wound up back in the cycle of drugs, injections, and pain clinic visits forever. At Synergy Spine Center, our success results from the ability to get patients OUT of the medical care system and back to a productive life, away from the medical system. Addicting pain drugs are almost never used, and if ever, only for short periods. Spinal injections are used for diagnostic purposes, or only as long as necessary to allow natural healing to occur; usually less than a few weeks. The majority of our patients are discharged within 60 days after they are first seen, and only return for additional care if needed, typically every two to three years.

2. Better diagnosis = better therapy

The spine is a complex biomechanical organ designed and built by the Master Engineer. Its parts are made to work together yet serve many different functions. A “one size fits all” approach to treatment is seldom successful. Some back pains don’t come from the spine at all and may require additional evaluation and referral. If the spine is involved, the facet joints (the “hinges”), the discs (the “shock absorbers”), nerves (the “wiring”) and connecting structures can all produce pain, and are all treated quite differently. The first thing that happens when a patient is seen at Synergy is a careful history, physical examination, and review of medical records. No patient walks in the door and receives an injection, procedure, or medication on the first visit. If additional tests are necessary, these are completed and reviewed before any treatment is started, just like in any other field of real medicine. Once we have determined what is wrong, specific treatment directed at the cause is begun. With this approach, most patients get better much faster with less down time and expense.

3. Changing expectations of chronic disability and lost productivity

Unresolved chronic spinal pain is also the leading cause of long term disability for people aged 50 or younger, and robs older patients of much of the joy of the golden years. Once spinal pain becomes chronic and disability begins, many patients and their doctors think it will always be that way. Not so at Synergy. Modern technology and accurate diagnosis has made it possible to restore spinal health and function for long periods, to more patients than ever before. The EXPECTATION is that disability from spinal disease will not occur, or that it can be eliminated or minimized with proper treatment. Injured workers with spinal conditions usually return to work within 12 weeks of our initial evaluation, preventing job loss, long term disability, lawsuits, and the legal wrangling that usually follows.

4. Elimination of narcotic dependency

There are no credible medical studies that have proven that long term medical management of chronic spinal pain with habit forming narcotic drugs helps patients lead more productive lives. In fact, there is mounting evidence that these drugs are frequently overused and may actually make things worse. Drug “contracts” and addiction only serve to keep patients trapped, vulnerable, and unable to take advantage of treatments and options that would work much better. No one can keep a job or be productive while under the influence of potent narcotic drugs. In most states, you can’t even drive a car while taking potent narcotics. There is rarely a legitimate reason to use these drugs as long term continuous treatment of any patient with benign musculoskeletal disease. Still worse, prescription narcotics often wind up in our schools, our kids, and our homes. Sometimes, the patients and doctors who abuse or misuse them wind up in jail.

5. Minimally invasive outpatient spinal surgery

In addition to spinal medicine, Synergy Spine Center specialists are expert minimally invasive spinal surgeons. Developed in the U.S. and perfected in Europe and Asia, endoscopic spinal surgery is the modern alternative to traditional open spinal surgery. For the first time, complex spinal operations can be performed without anesthesia, through a tube no larger than a pencil. For the majority of patients, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, and painful bone spurs can be removed in about an hour in an outpatient setting at 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of regular spinal surgery. With this technology most older patients with spinal stenosis can avoid spinal fusions or hospitalization, and recovery usually takes about 2-3 weeks. Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corporation is the pioneering worldwide leader in endoscopic spinal instruments and technology, and Synergy Spine Center is pleased to partner with Richard Wolf to offer this new technology to our patients. Our state of the art ambulatory surgical center is dedicated to the care of patients with spinal disease, and offers added value and the lowest possible cost to patients needing advanced spinal care. Now patients with spinal conditions may receive the same benefits of minimally invasive outpatient surgical care enjoyed by patients with heart disease and other medical problems previously requiring open surgery.

Patients with painful discs that have not yet ruptured may benefit from laser spinal surgery with no incisions at all. Endoscopic and laser spinal surgery are also effective for patients with recurrent pain and disc herniations following previous spinal operations. When arthritis or trauma affect the spinal joints, radiofrequency (RF) or endoscopic ablation of pain nerves can provide the long term relief of back pain and stiffness so desired by patients who have suffered for years. These powerful techniques may bring an end to pain, medications, disability, and trips to the doctor for months or years at a time.

• Smaller incisions; reduced spinal trauma
• Less down time, more rapid recovery
• Changing expectations
• Elimination of narcotic dependency
• Long term success
• Cost effective medical and surgical spinal care

Let Synergy Spine Center be your partner for advanced spinal care. Please call us at (864) 886-9888 or arrange an MRI review using the above “Contact Us” box. Do not allow another painful day to slip by. Find out why Synergy is a better way forward.