Spine care at Swedish Medical Center

Back surgeons in Englewood, Colorado

If you have neck or back pain, you are not alone. Back pain is a common reason patients visit their doctors. Sometimes, the pain can be alleviated through simple treatment, but, other times, neck or back pain becomes a persistent problem. In either case, Swedish Medical Center's back pain specialists in the South Denver area can help you determine what level of treatment will ease your back or neck pain.

Whether it is conservative therapies or surgery, we will fully discuss your options for managing pain and help you decide which treatment is most appropriate for you.

Our back and spine care team

Depending on your condition, your care team will include physicians specialized in orthopedic care and/or neurological care. These doctors are supported by a seasoned nursing staff, preoperative and postoperative care providers and rehabilitation specialists.

Spine, back and neck injuries we treat

We offer treatment for a wide variety of spine, neck and back injuries and conditions, including:

• Cervical, thoracic and lumbar fractures
• Complex deformities
• Disk injuries
• Injured or collapsed vertebrae
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Spinal cord injuries, including trauma
  
  • Posttraumatic Tethered Spinal Cord
  • Posttraumatic Syringomyelia
  • Posttraumatic Spasticity
  • Posttraumatic Neuropathic Pain
  • Complex Spinal Cord Deformities and Degenerative Spine
• Spinal tumors

Lower back pain

Lower back pain is often described as a dull, continuous pain and muscle tenderness along the spine and lower back. There are various types of lower back pain, including:

• Acute low back pain: back pain lasting for less than six weeks with pain that does not move down your leg
• Chronic low back pain: back pain lasting for more than six weeks with pain that does not move down your leg
• Acute sciatic pain: low back pain lasting for less than six weeks with pain that moves down your leg
• Chronic sciatic pain: low back pain lasting for more than six weeks with pain that moves down your leg

Causes of lower back pain

Lower back pain can happen after physical activities, such as shoveling snow, lifting a heavy object or making a sudden movement. When back pain occurs, there is usually an underlying cause, such as:

• A ruptured disc
• Bladder infection
• Degeneration of a spinal disc
• Endometriosis
• Kidney stone
• Muscle strain
• Muscle spasm of muscles supporting the lower back
• Ovarian cancer or cyst
• Scoliosis and kyphosis
• Spinal stenosis
• Tiny fracture in the spine caused by osteoporosis

Although back pain can greatly restrict your mobility, most people with lower back pain improve with conservative home treatment and without surgery. If your back pain is not relieved by nonsurgical treatments, surgery may be recommended.

Spine exams

We offer a variety of imaging tests to determine the cause of pain in the spinal column, including:

• Cervical spine exam: determines whether your condition is appropriate for physical therapy; evaluates the ligaments, spinal canal, spinal cord and vertebrae
• Lumbar spine exam: determines the cause of lower back pain; evaluates the ligaments, spinal cord, intervertebral discs and lumbar vertebrae
• Spine sacrum exam: examines the bottom of the spine
• Thoracic spine exam: examines the area of the spine that helps protect the heart, lungs and chest

Back and spine treatments

We offer a variety of nonsurgical and surgical treatments, including:

• Alternative therapies
• Complex deformity surgery
• Hardware removal procedures
• Interventional pain procedures
• Kyphoplasty
• Minimally invasive spine surgery
• Physical therapy and rehabilitation
• Spinal fusion
• Spine pain stimulator/implant procedures

Minimally invasive spine surgery

With the incorporation of robot-assisted surgical technology at our Surgical Robotics Institute, we offer patients smaller incisions, less scarring, faster recoveries and enhanced outcomes. This technology allows our spine surgeons to better plan procedures before surgery and gives them greater accuracy during procedures.

The robotic platform provides 3D pictures of your back, spine and neck bones, so the surgeon can place hardware in precisely the right location. Hardware placement is checked before leaving the operating room, minimizing the need for follow-up adjustment procedures.

Preoperative spine surgery class

Swedish Medical Center offers a class to help you feel more comfortable about your upcoming hospital stay and create appropriate expectations about your surgery and recovery. To sign up for the class, you can register online or call (866) 779-3347.

Register for spine surgery class

Spine therapy and rehabilitation

After your spine surgery, our team of specialists will help you recover and rehabilitate to get back to the activities you enjoy.

This physical therapy and rehabilitation can help:

• Decrease any swelling and pain
• Promote your return to performing daily activities, such as walking, bathing, dressing and grooming
• Restore your strength

Your therapy program is determined by your physical and occupational therapists and approved by your surgeon.