Spine care
Spine specialists, who can be orthopedists or neurosurgeons, diagnose and treat injuries, trauma and diseases related to the spine. Spine care doctors also offer care for herniated discs, nerve damage, sciatica, neck pain or chronic back pain.
Spine center in Overland Park, Kansas
Spine conditions can range from annoying back pain to debilitating spinal disorders that affect your quality of life.
At Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Johnson County, Kansas, our orthopedists and spinal surgeons offer advanced treatments, including minimally invasive spine surgery, for a range of conditions and injuries.
Health Risk Assessments
Answering a few questions can help you determine if you need to speak to your doctor.
Answering a few questions can help you determine if you need to speak to your doctor.
Our doctors care for adult and pediatric patients and are specially trained in both orthopedic and neurological care. You can trust our doctors to provide expert care for the whole family, all under one roof.
Spinal disorders we treat
The spinal column is the line of bones and nerves that runs from the neck down the back. Spinal disorders occur when there are issues with the spinal column, which can cause a wide range of symptoms and complications. Some of the spinal disorders we commonly treat include:
- Ankylosing spondylitis (inflammatory arthritis causing pain and stiffness)
- Basilar invagination (cranial settling)
- Cervical (neck) fracture
- Chordoma (cancerous tumor that can form anywhere along the spine)
- Degenerative conditions, including degenerative disc disease
- Facet joint osteoarthritis
- Herniated (ruptured) disc
- Kyphosis (excessive outward curvature of the spine)
- Lower back pain
- Myelopathy (spine injury caused by severe compression)
- Neck pain
- Radiculopathy (compressed nerve in the spine that causes pain, numbness, tingling or weakness)
- Scoliosis (sideways curve of the spine)
- Spinal column (bone) tumor
- Spinal cord trauma
- Spinal cord tumor
- Spinal dysraphism (malformations of the spinal cord)
- Spinal fracture (cracks or breaks in the vertebrae or spinal bones)
- Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spaces within the spine)
- Spondylolisthesis (spinal disorder in which a vertebra slips onto the vertebra below it)
- Spondylosis (age-related wear and tear of the spine)
Spinal disorder diagnostics
Our spine team is made up of specialists in neurological care and orthopedic care. When patients come to us with neck, back and spine-related pain, our team performs a full evaluation. We learn each patient's medical and family history as well as their physical activity levels and other factors that could contribute to their condition. To aid in our assessment, we may perform diagnostic imaging services, such as:
- Computerized tomography (CT) scans—detailed X-ray showing problems in the back
- Discogram—injects dye into a disc to identify the source of pain or cracks on the surface of a disc
- Electromyography—checks health of muscles in the back and the nerves that control them
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—radio waves create a detailed image of the spine
Treatments for spinal disorders
Possible treatment for spinal disorders depends on the patient's health, spinal condition and personal preference. We offer several nonsurgical and surgical options to treat spine diseases and injuries. A treatment plan will be formed considering all individual health factors and following a complete medical evaluation.
Physical therapy and rehabilitation
Often used alongside other treatments, physical therapy and rehabilitation can help patients regain strength and move more easily. Our physical therapy team also helps patients learn how to move without doing more damage or increasing pain and other symptoms.
Pain management
We offer advanced pain management services using oral and topical medications as well as medicine injections to reduce pain and inflammation. Our services include
- Epidural steroid injections (ESI)—This pain management option delivers powerful anti-inflammatory medicine directly to the space surrounding the spinal cord. An ESI is not the same type of epidural given during childbirth or some types of surgery.
- Facet injections—This treatment is aimed directly into the facet joints—the joints between the vertebrae that allow them to move against each other. These injections are performed using X-ray image guidance and can help reduce pain and swelling around the facet joints.
- Nerve block injections—These injections deliver pain-numbing medicine directly into the nerves. This is done to manage pain in the back and sometimes other areas of the body.
Spine surgery
We always suggest the least invasive method to treat patients with spinal disorders, but sometimes, surgery is the best option. If surgery is necessary, we use techniques and technology that can help reduce tissue damage to speed recovery and healing. Some of the spine surgeries we offer include:
- Cervical discectomy—removes one or more discs in the neck to relieve pain caused by a herniated disc pushing on the spinal cord or nerve root
- Cervical foraminotomy—reduces neck and arm pain by relieving pressure on the spinal nerve, which is accomplished by widening the damage disc at the site where the spinal nerves pass through
- Deformity correction—reconstructs the spine to correct a deformity or stabilize the spine
- Disc replacement—removes a damaged disc and replaces it with an artificial implant
- Kyphoplasty—inserts a surgical device to create a void in the vertebra that is then filled with a medical substance to stabilize a fracture
- Lumbar interbody fusion—removes the source of pressure on nerves in the spine and immobilizes a section of the back to prevent pain triggered by movement
- Lumbar microdiscectomy—removes a disc in the back to relieve pressure on the nerve root
- Pain pump implantation—implants a device that continuously delivers precise dosages of pain medicine to a targeted area of the spine
- Revision surgery—replaces or removes a disc implant or other implant that has failed
- Spinal cord stimulator implantation—implants a device that delivers a mild electric current to the spinal cord to decrease pain
- Spinal fusion—fuses together two or more vertebrae in the low back
- Vertebroplasty—injects a medical cement mixture into a fractured vertebra for stabilization
Robot-assisted spine surgery
Our doctors have access to advanced robotic surgical technologies that allow surgeons to perform complex spine procedures using a robotic guidance and navigation system. This minimally invasive technique uses a computer-assisted surgical platform that provides real-time visualization of a patient's anatomy, which helps improve precision and accuracy during surgery.
Robotic surgery offers many benefits for patients when compared to traditional surgical techniques, including:
- Less blood loss
- Less muscle and tissue damage
- Less overall scarring
- Potentially faster recovery
- Shorter hospital stay
- Smaller incisions, which can lead to smaller scars
Spine conditions we treat with robotic technology
Robotic surgery maybe an option for patients being treated for:
- Disc disease
- Lumbar isthmic
- Lumbar stenosis
- Scoliosis
- Spinal fracture
- Spinal injury
- Spinal stenosis
- Spondylolisthesis
Pediatric orthopedics
Overland Park Regional Medical Center offers a robust pediatric program, which includes pediatric orthopedics and pediatric spine surgery. We understand that young bodies need specialized care for injuries and illnesses that impact the spine, such as fractures and scoliosis. That's why we offer leading-edge, compassionate spine care from pediatric specialists in a kid-friendly atmosphere.