Paragon Health’s Treatment Philosophy : Helping You Move, Live, and Feel Better
Paragon Health is here for one reason: to help you live with less pain and more freedom. Whether your pain is new or something you’ve been dealing with for years, our team is ready to support you with safe, effective, and compassionate care. The word “Paragon” means a model of excellence. That’s what we strive to be for every patient, every day. We believe in doing what’s best for you not what’s easiest for us. That means starting with the least invasive treatments and only moving to advanced procedures when absolutely necessary.
The Pain in Your Life : Types of Chronic, Episodic or Sudden Pain in your Neck or Spine
“No we are not talking about your spouse and treating that challenge”. It’s the real pain in your neck or spine that we treat.
Neck and Back Pain:
These conditions can be back pain, or neck pain, which are the most common ailments, which can be caused by an injury, a fall, lifting a heavy object or just merely the fact that you are getting older. You may face difficulty turning your head due to the neck pain, it may cause ongoing headaches as well. It can be caused by poor posture, an accident, an injury from a fall, or car accident. In each of these situations, we bring medical solutions to lessen or take away
the pain completely.
We talk with you and we identify the cause and we then treat it with proven medical solutions. We don’t want you to accept your painful condition that is impacting your quality of life, we want to help you eliminate it for good.
These are some of the painful and somewhat common back and spine conditions that we can medically treat:
- Herniated Disk
Your spine has soft spongelike pads between the bones or “vertebrae” in your back. A herniated disk is when one of those “pads” slips out of place and presses on a nerve. The pain is intense and can be debilitating. Your quality of life is severely diminished if not treated properly and in a timely manner.
- Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a common bone disease in which bones become weak, brittle and more likely to break due to loss o bone mass and density. It develops gradually over time, usually with no symptoms and is more common in older adults. Paragon Health uses a “holistic approach” to treat this common medical challenge. We perform various means of testing to evaluate the complexity of the bone loss. After the testing is completed, we identify the means of preventing further bone loss and then we may provide medication to prevent further bone loss, we work with you to establish dietary goals through education and perhaps by meeting with a registered dietician. We can provide intense coaching on lifestyle changes to prevent falls and help you maintain a balanced life style, all with the goal to maintain bone health.
- Spine Trauma
A sudden injury to your spine is extremely serious. It may happen from a fall, a vehicle accident, perhaps a sports accident, a work-related injury or another form of bodily trauma. Your pain may be sharp, debilitating and may cause numbness or weakness in your arms or legs. Through various tests, including MRI and CT scans, as well as physical examinations by our pain management physicians, we are able to immediately diagnose the medical challenge. Our medical care team evaluates the challenges, checks the damage, and then we work with you to identify the most beneficial treatment plan for the spinal trauma that you have experienced.
The treatment modalities are customized by our medical team to your needs, and may range from physical therapy, epidural injections or perhaps to some type of surgical intervention which may be necessary, but surgery is typically a last resort for our physicians and for you when other treatment options have been exhausted.
- Degenerative Disk Disease
As we age, the discs, or soft-like sponges between the vertebrae (back bones) in our spine can wear down. This is known as degenerative disk disease. It can cause back pain and stiffness, and can become chronic if not medically treated by a physician. Thankfully, our pain management physicians at Paragon Health can treat this medical condition without surgery in most circumstances. Our treatment team uses physical therapy, epidural injections, along with gentle movement plans to alleviate the pain. The body has a way of healing itself and through proper medical treatment and minor interventions, this condition can be alleviated and treated.
- Spinal Stenosis
Spinal stenosis is a medical condition in which the spaces in your spine (the spinal canal) narrow. The narrowing puts pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves that branch out from it. It is most common in the lower back (lumbar area), or neck (cervical area) and is accompanied by symptoms such as cramping in the legs and back, especially when standing or walking, there is often numbness, tingling or weakness in your arms, hands, legs or feet. It is usually caused by age related wear and tear from conditions like osteoarthritis. There are a variety of treatment methods that our pain management physicians use to address this medical challenge. We will first meet with you to discuss the challenges, perhaps have some tests performed, such as an MRI or CT Scan, and then customize a medical treatment plan that may include physical therapy, epidural injections, or perhaps a minimally invasive procedure to take away the pain and return you to a normal quality of life.
- Sciatica
Sciatica is a pain that travels along the sciatic nerve, which is the longest nerve in the body. It starts in the lower back and travels down one leg, sometimes reaching as far down as the foot. The pain is caused by irritation, compression or inflammation of the sciatic nerve, often from issues in the lower spine from perhaps a herniated disc or spinal stenosis (discussed above). It causes a sharp, burning or shooting pain, and can cause numbness or tingling in the leg. Our treating pain management specialists at Paragon Health will first meet with you to discuss the challenge, perhaps have some tests performed, such as an MRI or CT Scan, and then customize a medical treatment plan that may include physical therapy, epidural injections, or perhaps a minimally invasive procedure to take away the pain and return you to a normal quality of life.
- Spondylolisthesis
Spondylolisthesis is a condition where one vertebra slips forward over the one below it. Essentially a spinal bone moves out of place, which can sometimes cause back pain, or nerve pressure. The treatment team of pain management specialists will meet with you to discuss the medical challenge, perhaps order some diagnostic radiology tests in order to better understand the complexity of the medical challenge, and then customize a treatment plan based upon the severity of the condition. The treatment plan may entail a very simple solution, or it could include a more intentional approach with epidural injection treatment or possible minimally invasive surgical intervention being required to treat the painful medical condition.
- Bone Spurs
Bone spurs are small, extra growths of bone that form along the edges of a bone, usually where joints or tendons experience stress or wear. They’re often called osteophytes, and most of the time they cause no symptoms but they can sometimes lead to pain, stiffness, or nerve pressure depending on where they develop. Our pain management treatment team will meet with you to discuss the medical challenge, we may order some diagnostic radiology tests in order to better understand the complexity of the medical challenge, and then customize a treatment plan based upon the severity of the condition. The treatment plan typically entails a very simple solution, or it may include a more intentional approach with epidural injection treatment or possible minimally invasive surgery being required to treat the painful medical condition.
- Disc extrusion
A disc extrusion is when the soft inner material of a spinal disc pushes out through a tear in the outer layer and extends beyond the disc’s normal space. It’s essentially a more pronounced form of a herniated disc, where the leaked material forms a larger, more defined bulge that can press on nearby nerves. It may cause weakness or numbness in the arms and legs. The pain may be very intense and you will need immediate medical treatment for the condition. Typically, our medical treatment team of pain management physicians will meet with you to discuss your medical challenge and we may order a diagnostic MRI or CT Scan in order to better understand the complexity of the medical challenge. We will then customize a treatment plan based upon the severity of the condition. The treatment plan typically entails a very simple solution, or it may include a more intentional approach with epidural injection treatment or possible minimally invasive surgery being required to treat the painful medical condition.
- Disc Protrusion
A disc protrusion is the mildest form of a herniated disc, where the disc’s outer layer stays intact but bulges outward slightly. Think of it as the disc pushing out but not breaking open, so the inner material hasn’t leaked just shifted enough to create a small bump that can touch nearby nerves. This medical condition causes leg pain, back pain or numbness around the impacted area. The medical treatment team at Paragon Health will meet with you and discuss your challenge in detail, create a customized treatment plan. Typically, the medical treatment will include easing the pressure through treatment modalities, and will include extended rest and some physical therapy. With this treatment, the disc often will heal on its own.
