When neck and back pain stops you form enjoying your usual activities, the Spine Center at the UMass Memorial Musculoskeletal Center of Excellence in Worcester can help. We offer complete evaluation along with non-surgical and surgical treatments for children and adults for conditions affecting:
- The cervical spine (vertebra just below the skull)
- Thoracic (vertebra in chest area)
- Lumbar spine (vertebra in lower back)
Here, you have convenient, one-stop spine care from a multidisciplinary team of back care specialists including orthopedic specialists, neurosurgeons and physiatrists with advanced subspecialty training in spine surgery, pain management, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. By working together and with you in a team approach, we tailor treatments to your individual needs for back pain relief.
And while our spine surgeons are highly experienced, it’s important to note that surgery is seldom the first line of treatment for many spinal disorders. Surgery generally is considered only when more conservative treatment options — such as physical therapy, medications or nerve block injections — have been exhausted, or when delaying surgery could cause more damage.
When our spine surgeons do recommend surgery, they use the most advanced techniques — including minimally invasive spinal surgery — to achieve excellent results and high rates of patient satisfaction.
At our Center, you’ll find complete resources for evaluating and treating the causes of back pain from congenital (present from birth), degenerative and traumatic spine disorders, including:
- Arthritis
- Degenerative disc disease
- Herniated disc (“slipped disc”)
- Severe back pain
- Myelopathy (spinal cord problem)
- Neurogenic claudication (pain, tension, and weakness in the legs on walking)
- Osteoporosis
- Scoliosis and other spinal deformities
- Sciatica nerve pain
- Spinal stenosis
- Spine trauma
- Sports-related spinal injuries
- Tumors
- Vertebral fractures
- Whiplash
Plus, as part of an academic medical center, our physicians are engaged in ongoing clinical research to advance surgical and non-surgical ways to diagnose and treat patients with spinal disorders. This provides you with access to leading-edge therapies that may not be available at other hospitals.