Spine Pain & Injury Care in Boynton Beach

Common Spine Symptoms

Back and neck pain is very common, and most episodes improve within weeks. The type and pattern of symptoms help point to the source.

• Aching in the low back that is worse with bending, lifting or sitting: common low back pain from muscles, discs or joints.
• Pain, numbness or tingling that runs from the buttock down the leg: sciatica, often from a herniated disc pressing on a nerve root.
• Leg pain or heaviness when walking or standing that eases when you sit or lean forward: typical of lumbar spinal stenosis.
• Stiffness and pain in the neck, sometimes with pain, tingling or weakness down the arm: neck pain, which may involve a pinched nerve.
• Sudden mid or low back pain after a minor fall or even a cough, especially with osteoporosis: possible vertebral compression fracture.

Go to the emergency room or call 911 if you have loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin or inner thighs, or sudden severe weakness in your legs. These can be signs of serious nerve compression. See a physician promptly if back pain comes with fever, a history of cancer, unexplained weight loss or a significant fall, or if neck pain comes with clumsy hands or trouble walking.

How we diagnose back and neck pain

At Personalized Orthopedics of the Palm Beaches, spine care starts with a detailed history and a physical and neurological exam of strength, reflexes and sensation. Many people with back pain do not need imaging right away. When it is needed, X-ray and MRI are on site. Sometimes a diagnostic injection, placed under fluoroscopy (live X-ray), helps confirm which nerve or joint is causing the pain.

Non-surgical spine care

Dr. Michael Baskin is a physiatrist, a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and is board-certified in interventional pain management. His focus is non-surgical diagnosis and treatment of spine pain. Your plan may include:

• Physical therapy in our office, focused on movement, core strength and manual therapy, with therapists who share your chart.
• Epidural steroid injections, which place anti-inflammatory medication near an irritated nerve root to ease sciatica or arm pain.
• Facet joint injections, for pain coming from the small joints of the spine.
• Radiofrequency ablation, which uses heat to quiet the small nerves that carry pain from arthritic facet joints. Relief often lasts months and varies.
• Kyphoplasty for painful thoracic and lumbar compression fractures, performed by Dr. Baskin in our procedure suite.

Injections and ablation are done in our in-office procedure room using fluoroscopy to guide the needle.

For selected patients with long-standing pain, Dr. Baskin also offers advanced neuromodulation, such as spinal cord stimulation.

Your spine care team

Dr. Baskin formerly headed the international spine and pain program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. Steven Bernstein, PT, OMT, is a member of our physical therapy team and has more than 30 years of experience in manual therapy. Because therapy and procedures happen under one roof, your plan can move smoothly between injections and rehabilitation. If your condition may need spine surgery, Dr. Baskin can discuss a referral to a spine surgeon.