Intradiscal Procedures

If your discogram shows that your intervertebral disc is the source of your pain, we have a variety of non-surgical procedures to treat that problem. These procedures can focus on either the annulus, the “radial tire” outer portion of the disc or the nucleus, the “shock absorber” or “jelly filling” inside the disc.

Biacuplasty and IDET

Procedures focusing on the annulus include the Biacuplasty procedure and the IDET (Intradiscal Electrothermal therapy) procedure.

All of these procedures use heat. Biacuplasty and the IDET procedures treat the low back component to treat lower back pain rather than the pain going down the leg. Dr. Helm has recently authored a review of all of the literature for these procedures, showing that there is high-quality evidence for these procedures.

The newest procedure is Biacuplasty, which uses a technique called cooled radiofrequency to treat the painful disc. Biacuplasty allows you to return to work, if you have a desk job, several weeks after the procedure.

Learn more about Biacuplasty here.

Nucleoplasty

Nucleoplasties are directed at treating chronic leg pain. Among the technologies available are the Viking procedure (heat), Coblation (vaporize), the Dekompressor (extraction) and the LASE procedure (vaporize). No evidence exists to demonstrate one approach is better than the others.

For contained disc protrusions, up to about 5 mm, these approaches offer a safe, effective means of treating radicular pain without the risks of surgery.

Learn more at www.transdiscal.com.

At the Helm Center, we use contemporary techniques to diagnose and treat your pain. You may call us today to schedule your consultation one of our specialists.