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Sacroiliac Joint Injections for Lower Back Pain – What to Expect

Suffering from chronic back pain? Whether your pain is centered around the lower back, upper leg, or buttocks, a sacroiliac joint injection (SJC) can help. This simple procedure reduces pain immediately, and the benefits can last for several months.

Here’s what you need to know about this pain-relieving procedure.

What Is a Sacroiliac Joint Injection?

If you’re experiencing chronic lower back pain, your doctor or other healthcare professional may prescribe a sacroiliac joint injection. This simple outpatient procedure uses a combination of local anesthetic and a steroid medication to diagnose and/or treat sacroiliac joint pain caused by the following conditions:

• Ankylosing spondylitis (inflammatory arthritis of the spine and large joints)
• Cancer
• Congenital deformities
• Fracture
• Gout
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Spinal surgery

What to Expect During a Sacroiliac Joint Injection

Before receiving an SJC, inform your doctor about all prescription medications you take, especially blood thinners. Refrain from drinking alcohol and smoking prior to the procedure and stop taking anti-diabetic medications. The night prior to the procedure, avoid consuming both solid foods and fluids.

On the day of the procedure, your medical professional will inject a contrast agent into your lower back to help outline the joint. Once your SI joint is identified, your medical professional will inject a syringe filled with local anesthetic and steroids into the joint space, and the solution typically enters the area with very little resistance. Using X-Ray guidance, your doctor will have no trouble finding the proper placement in the SI joint.

Most patients state that the stinging of the numbing medicine is the most uncomfortable part of the procedure. This portion only lasts a few minutes; however, every person’s individual response will differ.

What to Expect After a Sacroiliac Joint Injection

Many patients report feeling immediate relief from pain directly following the procedure. This is due to the local anesthetic, and once the numbing medicine wears off, you may feel an increase in pain and soreness at the injection site. The pain typically worsens the day after the procedure, then starts to lessen within two to three days following the procedure as the steroid begins to take effect.

You should start to feel significant relief from your lower back pain within three days following the procedure. In the meantime, apply an ice pack to the affected area several times each day, so you can relieve some of the discomfort at the injection site. You can resume taking your usual pain medication immediately following the injection.

Is a Sacroiliac Joint Injection Right for You?

A sacroiliac joint injection is often effective at alleviating the symptoms of chronic lower back pain. It’s a simple alternative to surgery, and most patients feel the benefits within just a few days after the procedure.

Want to learn whether an SI injection is right for you? Reach out to the pain management experts at Impact Medical Group of Sarasota today at (941) 222-1157 to schedule your free consultation!

Physical Therapy for Vertigo – Exercises and Benefits

If you are one of the millions of Americans experiencing more dizziness than the spinning teacups, you may have vertigo. This form of dizziness can create a sensation of motion and leave patients feeling like they are tumbling or spinning. In most cases, vertigo can go away on its own, but Impact Medical Group of Port Richey knows that adding physical therapy exercises can improve your balance and well-being sooner.

A variety of conditions can produce vertigo. Frequent symptoms include migraines, inner ear infections, head injuries, or surgeries involving the inner ear or surrounding nerves. Common in adults over the age of 20, it can also affect people of all ages. This condition can be especially dangerous for older adults. Vertigo-related balance issues put this age group at a greater risk for falls, fractures, and major injuries.

So how does a physical therapist help with vertigo? Because Impact Medical Group of Port Richey physical therapists are movement experts, patients can expect hands-on care, prescribed movement, and continuous evaluations. Each vertigo treatment plan will be tailored to the patient’s needs, with a primary focus on restoring movement and symptom management. After an evaluation, head and neck exercises like the Epley Maneuver may be integrated into the sessions. 

Experiencing vertigo can be debilitating and terrifying. But when properly diagnosed and paired with effective physical therapy sessions, it can be successfully managed. The first step is to seek care from the specialists at Impact Medical of Port Richey. Call us at (727) 848-3377 to make an appointment today!

Restore Your Body’s Energy Levels with an IV Drip

Your body is a complex system, and it needs the right number of vitamins and minerals to function. If you’re constantly feeling tired and sluggish, it could be due to an imbalance of nutrients. Luckily, an IV drip can help with that problem. Read on to learn all you need to know about this safe, fast, and effective treatment option that boosts your energy levels, combats exhaustion, and reduces symptoms of fatigue. 

Common Reasons for Low Energy Levels

Being fatigued keeps you from living life to the fullest. If you’re suffering from chronic fatigue, you’re not just tired—you’re exhausted to the point where it interferes with your daily life. There are many common reasons why you may feel fatigued, including:

• Stress: Stress causes your energy levels to be lower than usual. It increases cortisol in the body, weakening your immune system and leaving you tired and drained.

• Poor Sleep: Poor or insufficient sleep makes your energy levels drop. Healthy adults need around 8 hours of good-quality sleep to function properly. While certain conditions like sleep apnea may be the cause of poor sleep, in most cases it’s due to bad sleeping habits.

• Poor Diet: The nutrients you consume have a direct effect on your energy levels. If your body isn’t getting the right combination of vitamins and minerals, your energy levels suffer. An IV drip is the solution, giving you an instant boost of the essential nutrients that give you energy.

What Is an IV Therapy Treatment?

An IV therapy treatment delivers medication intravenously, or through the veins. IV drips distribute liquid that holds vitamins and minerals throughout your body, allowing it to move quickly through the bloodstream. Unlike oral supplements that can never be fully absorbed by the body, IV drips help nutrients bypass the digestive system, reaching your bloodstream directly for immediate and full effect. In short, a vitamin IV drip gives you a bigger boost of nutrients compared to taking them orally.

Can IV Therapy Increase Energy Levels?

IV energy drip packages are specially formulated with a combination of antioxidants, electrolytes, fluids, and vitamins that enhance energy and focus. They’re designed to replenish your body’s energy stores, increasing your vigor and vitality. Whether you’re just feeling low on energy or you’re experiencing chronic fatigue, an IV energy drip can restore your energy levels in a matter of minutes, so you can leave the office feeling refreshed and revitalized. Your body benefits from adequate energy levels in a variety of ways, including:

• Helping you stay focused and more productive at work
• Allowing you to manage stress and respond better to challenges
• Regulating your mood
• Improving your sleep quality
• Helping you lose excess weight
• Giving your skin a youthful, healthy glow
• Boosting your immune system

Boost Your Energy Levels with an IV Drip

If your energy levels are low and you have trouble getting through the day, IV drip therapy can help. It’s an easy, safe, and effective way to get the essential nutrients you need to boost your energy levels and improve your overall quality of life. Reach out to the caring staff at Impact Medical Group of Clearwater today at (727) 292-0200 to schedule your consultation!

Herniated Disc After a Car Accident? Read This.

If you have been in a car accident and have gotten a herniated disc, you know that it causes a lot of pain. Herniated discs are common after car accidents, and without proper treatment, they can result in chronic pain, disability, and even paralysis if the spinal cord is damaged.

Keep reading to learn more about herniated discs and how we treat them at Impact Medical Zephyrhills.

What is a Herniated Disc?

A spinal disc is a fluid-filled circular structure that is located between the vertebrae in your spine. A disc’s role is to absorb stress from the spine and protect it from injuries.

A herniated disc can occur in any of the three parts of the spine:

• Cervical spine or neck
• Lumbar spine or lower back
• Thoracic spine or mid-back

A herniated disc occurs in a car accident when the force of the crash causes one of your vertebrae to push into your spinal canal, where it may compress or put pressure on your spinal cord.

Herniated discs can cause neck, back, arm, or even leg pain, as well as numbness, tingling, or weakness at the site of the herniation. While surgery is often recommended when herniation causes nerve impingement and weakness, there are other ways to treat it.

Symptoms of Disc Herniation

Some common symptoms of a herniated disc include:

• Pain on one side of the body
• Sharp pain in one part of the leg, hip, or buttocks and numbness in other areas
• Sciatica pain
• Pain when moving your neck, or deep pain near or over your shoulder blade

The pain of a herniated disc can become worse:

• After sitting or standing
• At night
• When sneezing, laughing, or coughing
• When walking a few yards or bending backward

Herniated Disc Treatment Options

There are several treatment options for herniated discs, including:

Home Remedies

Though you should seek medical attention promptly after a disc herniation, there are things that you can do to support your treatment.

Because minor herniated discs are usually accompanied by inflammation, heat and ice therapy can be used to help reduce inflammation and provide pain relief.

Additionally, your doctor may recommend avoiding certain positions while sleeping, sitting, or standing so the affected area does not experience unnecessary strain. It can also help you avoid reinjury.

Physical Therapy

With the help of stretching, exercise, and manual, a physical therapist can help treat disc herniations by gradually releasing the pressure on the affected area and improving blood flow and nerve communication.

When a herniated disc pushes on a nerve, pain signals are sent to other parts of the body. A physical therapist can identify strategies to reduce nerve and spinal pressure while maintaining proper nerve pressure.

Chiropractic Care

To encourage proper communication from the brain to the rest of the body, chiropractors are trained to deal with spinal misalignments that hinder this communication.

The goal of chiropractic treatment is to relieve pain caused by disc damage and realign the spine safely.

Having chiropractic treatment done regularly can help your body recover from the inside out and can potentially save you from minimally invasive spine surgery.

Interventional Spine Treatment

Minimally invasive spine surgery can be used by neurosurgeons to treat disc herniation problems in an outpatient setting. This treatment has three goals:

• Pain reduction
• Healing
• Avoiding spinal surgery

Interventional spine treatments include epidural steroid injections, which can relieve pain in the arms and legs, as well as the spine.

Surgical Solutions

Spine surgery is a major operation and should be considered a last resort option.

Herniated Disc Treatment

If you have a herniated disc following a car accident, don’t wait, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Our compassionate team at Impact Medical Zephyrhills is here to help you heal with physical therapy, chiropractic care, and interventional pain management.

Call to schedule an appointment today at (813) 706-5156!