Don’t Let Back Pain Define You

Living with back pain can touch every part of your life: your work, your relationships, even your independence. Whether it came on suddenly or has lingered for years, you deserve more than temporary relief. At Summit Spine & Joint Centers, we help patients throughout Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina find lasting, non-surgical solutions to chronic and acute back pain.

With more than 50 locations across the Southeast, our board-certified pain management specialists use advanced, minimally invasive treatments to diagnose and treat back pain at its source, so you can get back to doing what you love.

‘Why Does My Back Hurt?’

Back pain affects nearly 80% of adults at some point. The spine is a complex network of bones, nerves, discs, and muscles, and when even one part is strained or damaged, the result can be persistent pain. Our physicians use advanced diagnostics and precision-guided imaging to pinpoint the exact cause as to why your back hurts before building a treatment plan around it.

Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain, also known as lumbar pain, is the most common form. The lower back bears most of your body’s weight and is involved in nearly every movement, making it especially vulnerable to strain.

• Muscle Strains and Ligament Sprains: sudden movements, heavy lifting, or poor posture can strain muscles and ligaments, causing acute pain and stiffness.
• Herniated or Bulging Discs: the soft cushions between your vertebrae bulge or rupture and press on nearby nerves, often causing pain that radiates down the leg.
• Degenerative Disc Disease: the natural loss of disc hydration and flexibility that comes with age, leading to chronic lower back pain.
• Spinal Stenosis: narrowing of the spinal canal that compresses the spinal cord and nerves, more common after 50.
• Facet Joint Arthritis: arthritis in the small joints connecting the vertebrae, causing inflammation and pain that worsens with movement.
• Vertebral Compression Fractures: a weakened or fractured vertebra, often from osteoporosis or a fall, that can cause sudden, sharp back pain. See Kyphoplasty below.

Upper Back Pain

Less common than lower back pain, but it can be just as disruptive.

• Poor Posture: hours hunched over a computer or phone, straining the muscles and ligaments of the upper back.
• Muscle Overuse: repetitive movements, especially lifting or reaching, leading to muscle fatigue and pain.
• Injury or Trauma: accidents, falls, or sports injuries damaging the structures of the upper back.
• Herniated Discs: less common in the thoracic spine, but disc problems here can cause pain that radiates around the ribcage.

Middle Back Pain

Often stems from the same causes as the other regions, plus a few of its own.

• Compressed Nerves: compression in the thoracic spine causing sharp, shooting pain that can wrap around the torso.
• Osteoarthritis: wear and tear on the joints of the middle back leading to inflammation and chronic discomfort.
• Scoliosis or Kyphosis: abnormal spinal curvature placing uneven stress on the back muscles and joints.

When To See a Back Pain Specialist

While mild back pain may improve with rest, some symptoms signal it’s time for professional care. See a pain management specialist if you experience:

• Pain lasting more than a few weeks
• Pain that radiates down your leg, often lumbar radiculopathy, also known as sciatica
• Numbness, tingling, or weakness in your legs
• Back pain after a fall or accident
• Pain that interferes with sleep or work
• Unexplained weight loss along with pain

Treatment Options

We offer a full range of non-surgical, minimally invasive treatments, so you can avoid the risks and lengthy recovery of traditional surgery.

• Epidural Steroid Injections: anti-inflammatory medication delivered directly to the affected area of the spine, providing relief that can last weeks or months.
• Facet Joint Injections: reduce inflammation in the small joints of the spine and help confirm the source of the pain.
• Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS): mild electrical pulses that interrupt pain signals before they reach the brain, for chronic back pain that hasn’t responded to other treatments.
• Radiofrequency Ablation: heat that temporarily disables the nerves sending pain signals, for longer-lasting relief.
• Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression (MILD): an outpatient procedure that removes small pieces of bone and tissue compressing the spinal nerves, relieving spinal stenosis symptoms.
• Basivertebral Nerve Ablation (BVNA), also known as the Intracept procedure: targets the basivertebral nerve within the vertebral body to relieve chronic low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease.
• Sacroiliac Joint Fusion: stabilizes the SI joint to reduce pain and improve mobility for patients with SI joint dysfunction.
• Kyphoplasty: restores vertebral height and relieves pain from vertebral compression fractures through the injection of bone cement.
• Intrathecal Pain Pump: delivers pain medication directly into the spinal fluid at micro doses, for severe pain that hasn’t responded to other treatments.
• Physical Rehabilitation and Supportive Care: physical therapy, exercise guidance, and lifestyle modifications that strengthen the core and help prevent pain from returning.