Pain and Wellness Center -

Acupuncture is a modality that is over 3,500 years old. Today, it has been approved by the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health to be effective for pain management (including headaches, joint pain, neck and shoulder pain, low back pain, sciatica, knee pain, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, etc…); women’s health (morning sickness, PMS, fertility, menopausal symptoms); insomnia; stress reduction; respiratory symptoms; etc…

Most people find acupuncture sessions relaxing. The needles are the size of a hair and are gentle. The Pain & Wellness Center offers acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and laser acupuncture.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about acupuncture.

The Intracept procedure is designed to ablate the basivertebral nerves at their location in the middle of the lumbar vertebral body. These nerves transmit the pain signal to the central nervous system.

These patients have Modic endplate changes, an inflammatory condition, affecting the vertebral cartilage (called the endplate) above and below each lumbar disc. These patients have failed numerous other treatments including various spinal injections. Their pain is typically made worse by bending and sitting.

The ablation process takes up to 15 minutes and the patient receives conscious sedation during the procedure, which can take up to 45 minutes to treat two levels.

Risks of this procedure include bleeding, infection, and temporary worsening of the pain. Up to 80 % of the patients who undergo this procedure can achieve significant functional improvement approximately one month after the procedure. Since January 2022 the procedure is generally covered by the majority of the insurances.

Attached is a peer review article published in 2020 along with a patient testimonial.

**The Intracept Procedure was featured on NBC’s TODAY this morning. The full segment can be viewed here.

Additional link(s):
– https://www.relievant.com/

Various nerve nerve blocks, joint injections, ablative techniques and neuromodulation devices are used in  conjunction  with non invasive modalities to achieve improvement and relief of the pain.

Posterior lateral spinal arthrodesis is a novel advance in the surgical treatment of moderate to severe lumbar spinal stenosis. The Minuteman device (Spinal Simplicity) is approved by FDA for the treatment of patients with spinal stenosis and symptoms of neurogenic claudication who failed conservative therapies including pain medications, physical therapy, acupuncture, exercises, and epidural steroid injections.  This device can also be used for patients with grade 1 spondylolisthesis and spinal instability.  The implant of the device is a safe and minimally invasive procedure which is done in the operating room with intravenous sedation.

Pain and Wellness Center is proud to be one of only two facilities on the North Shore offering MLS Laser Therapy. MLS Laser Therapy is one of the most advanced laser therapy systems available, offering our patients a painless, drugless, non-invasive way to help them recover from painful injuries or chronic pain conditions.

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Percutaneous disc decompression is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia for patients with contained disc herniation and leg pain.

With fluoroscopic guidance, a needle is inserted in the intervertebral disc and material is removed, diminishing the pressure on the adjacent nerves, thus decreasing the pain and discomfort.

It requires only a very small skin puncture in the back and no sutures.

If you are desiring to ensure a maximum physical well-being, and also want to ensure you are doing your exercises correctly and safely, our highly-trained and well-experienced Physical Therapy staff can help you.  Our Personal Training Program gives you personal attention and motivation to achieve your workout or post-rehab goals.  We perform a full physical evaluation and spend quality time in consultation to determine the best path for you.  From there, we will develop a program that will achieve a top-notch quality of life and work with you throughout the program.  We address all aspects of your physical well-being including range of motion, strength, body composition, stability, endurance, balance, coordination, and any other goals you may have.

The Pain & Wellness physical therapists (PTs) will markedly improve your quality of life.  We are highly-educated professionals with specialized skills and experience in chronic pain and orthopedic physical therapy.  We are not merely licensed health care professionals, but the PTs at Pain & Wellness are constantly training to learn the most modern techniques developed around the world.  Many of our success stories involve patients who have received physical therapy from other providers without positive results.  With advanced problem-solving skills, we help patients reduce pain and improve or restore mobility and teach patients how to prevent or manage their condition so that they will achieve long-term health benefits.  We thoroughly examine each individual and formulate a diagnosis and prognosis involving other team members, as needed.  Our goal is to develop a plan using modern and proven treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability.  When necessary, we interact with other health professionals, families, care givers and communities to complete a process where movement potential is assessed and goals are agreed upon. Our patients include people of all ages suffering from chronic pain, recovering from orthopedic surgery (including joint replacement, muscle tears, spinal), trauma (accidents and workplace injuries) and other musculoskeletal injuries.  Depending on the particular needs of a patient/client, our PTs will perform a combination of the following treatments: functional training, therapeutic exercise, joint mobilization techniques to increase joint motion and reduce pain, traction, laser therapy, electrotherapy, and ultrasound, in addition to other treatments when appropriate. We pride ourselves on one-on-one patient care – EVERY VISIT, allowing us to maximize each treatment session and provide ample time for patient education.

What is Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy?

Platelet-Rich Plasma, or PRP, is produced from your own blood. The platelets are the cells in our body that contain growth factors, which stimulate the normal wound healing process, e.g., the same way that your skin heals after a scrape. With PRP, you create a supra-therapeutic level of your own platelets (over 500% more platelets than normal blood) so that you heighten the healing of chronically injured tissue. All PRP injections are done under radiographic guidance to confirm the placement of the PRP in the correct tissue.

Is PRP indicated for me?

PRP therapy is indicated for injuries that have failed to heal despite traditional treatment options. It can be performed in any musculoskeletal structure, including muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments all over the body.

How is PRP made?

To prepare PRP, blood is taken from your arm with a special kit like a normal blood test. It is then placed in a special centrifugation machine that separates the platelets from the blood in order to be extracted in a concentrated form called PRP. The entire PRP Therapy takes about 45 minutes.

How many treatments are necessary?

Most patients achieve successful outcomes with only one injection. In some cases, a series of three injections is required to achieve significant results. Each injection is spaced several weeks apart. There is no limit to the number of treatments you can have; however, literature has shown that about 15% of patients do not see improvement with more than three injections and should consider other treatments.

Are there any side effects?

Since your own blood is used, there is no risk for transmitted blood infections. PRP has a strong antibacterial effect, so the risk of local infection is minimal. It is normal to have increased soreness or pain after the procedure for an average of three days.

Will my insurance pay for this treatment?

Since this is a fairly new procedure, most insurance companies have not incorporated it yet into their list of approved procedures and do not consider this to be a reimbursable expense. There are various PRP packages to suit your needs. All packages include the PRP kit, blood draw, centrifugation machine, disposable equipment, ultrasound guidance, and the actual procedure. A splint for support may be indicated in some cases (additional fee).

What are the potential benefits of PRP?

PRP stimulates healing of the injured tissue by activating your body’s natural healing capacity. Patients on average report more than 50% improvement in 6 weeks and up to 100% improvement in 12 weeks. This may eliminate the need for more aggressive and expensive treatment options such as long-term medication or surgery. In addition, PRP Therapy is a minimally-invasive procedure that is done in the clinic; therefore, you go home the same day.

The Pain and Wellness Center  Staff Psychologist evaluates and treats patients with chronic and acute pain disorders, as well as other neurological problems, such as seizure disorders and head injuries.  Patients with chronic pain are evaluated prior to placement of Spinal Cord Stimulators or intrathecal pumps.  Our staff psychologist also works in conjunction with the medical team for Opioid Management of patients with chronic pain.

Our dedicated team of health care professionals includes specialists in interventional pain management as well as those with backgrounds in complementary and alternative medicine. By collaborating on cases as a team, we can provide our patients with the most appropriate combination of treatments to alleviate or, when possible, eliminate their pain.

Superion Implant is a novel, FDA approved, minimally invasive intervention aimed at relieving pain in patients suffering from chronic low back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis.

The procedure, which is performed under mild intravenous sedation in the operating room, is ideally suited for patients who complain of low back pain, that radiates to the lower extremities and which typically worsens with activities but is almost always relieved by rest.

The average length of time it takes to perform the procedure is about 30 minutes. After a period of post-procedure monitoring, the patient is discharged home on the same day.

Patients who have tried and failed treatments such as physical therapy, pain medications and epidural steroid injections but are not suited or ready for spine surgery may be excellent candidates for this intervention.Five -year follow up data shows significant improvement in pain relief and functional level.

We are happy to provide this service for our patients. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please call at (978) 826-7230.

Watch this video to learn more.

Sacroiliac joint is a frequent pain generator in patients with chronic low back pain. It is usually treated with a combination of pain medications, physical therapy, spinal manipulations, acupuncture, chiropractic manipulations and local steroid injections. The minority of the patients who don’t respond to these simple modalities can be candidates for a sacroiliac joint fusion with an allograft implant.  The LinQ implant system is a minimally invasive safe posterior approach for the treatment of chronic intractable sacroiliac pain. It is done with intravenous anesthesia and typically it takes 45 minutes to complete the procedure. Recent studies show 73% pain and function improvement 12 months after the procedure is performed.