Orthopedic Spine Care

Spine and back pain can keep you from doing your everyday activities. At Trinity Health Of New England, our orthopedic spine specialists offer care to relieve back and neck pain. We’re experts at diagnosing and treating the conditions that cause back pain.

Orthopedic Spine Care: Why Choose Us?

Our orthopedic providers have additional specialized training and experience in diagnosing and treating people with most spine conditions and injuries. At Trinity Health Of New England, you’ll find:

Experienced providers: You receive care from orthopedic spine surgeons and physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians (physiatrists), many of whom have board certifications and fellowship training.
Dedicated teams: The care teams include physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical therapists and other providers. Orthopedic spine care is all we do, giving us deep, broad experience in providing the best possible care.
Full range of nonsurgical treatments: We provide physical therapy, massage and other nonsurgical treatments to relieve neck and back pain. We also offer specialized injections in our offices for your convenience.
Advanced surgery options: Our orthopedic spine surgeons use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible to treat people with spine injuries and conditions. In many cases, we use sophisticated robotic-assisted surgical techniques. Our surgeons also have expertise in open spine surgery for more complex health needs.

Orthopedic Spine Experts at Trinity Health Of New England

Our orthopedic spine team includes providers from several fields, all with experience in orthopedic issues affecting the neck and back. Your care team may include:

Orthopedic spine surgeons: Orthopedic surgeons provide care for the musculoskeletal system: bones, joints, muscles and connective tissues such as ligaments and tendons. Orthopedic spine surgeons focus on issues that affect the neck and back.
Physiatrists: These physicians specialize in nonsurgical treatment to help people regain function as they recover from injuries or conditions. Physiatrists are also called physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians.
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners: These providers work alongside surgeons and physiatrists, assisting with all aspects of spine care, including evaluations and surgical and nonsurgical treatment.
Physical therapists: Physical therapists provide care and training to help people regain strength and mobility after spine injuries or surgery.
Occupational therapists: These therapists work with patients to help them relearn how to complete daily activities.

Other team members include nurses, registered dietitians and social workers. When appropriate, our orthopedic spine surgeons work with Trinity Health Of New England neurologists and neurosurgeons to ensure comprehensive, whole-person care.

Podcasts

Listen to our latest episode “Breaking Down Back Pain: Insights from an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon,” as David Kruger, M.D., explains common causes of back pain and options for long-term relief.

Orthopedic Spine Treatments at Trinity Health Of New England

We begin with a thorough evaluation at our Comprehensive Spine Program. In most cases, we start treatment with nonsurgical options to relieve pain and improve function and mobility. If you have a more advanced or urgent condition, our orthopedic spine surgeons perform the latest procedures.

Nonsurgical Treatments

Nonsurgical treatments may be all you need to get back to your everyday activities. At our Comprehensive Spine Program, we treat back and neck conditions and injuries with nonsurgical treatments such as:

Rehabilitation: Physical and occupational therapy can relieve pain and help you regain strength, mobility and function for daily activities.
Injections: Steroid injections, nerve blocks and other types of injections can relieve pain and help rule out some causes of neck or back pain.
Cognitive behavioral therapy: Psychological therapy can help focus thoughts and actions to manage and cope with pain.
Alternative treatments: Integrative medicine treatments such as acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, progressive muscle relaxation, massage and other methods can provide pain relief.

Surgical Treatments

If nonsurgical treatment doesn’t relieve your symptoms, you may need surgery. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive techniques for spine surgery. Our orthopedic spine surgeons have extensive expertise in open surgery for more complex cases. We perform a wide range of spine procedures, including:

Corpectomy: Surgeons remove a damaged vertebra (bone in the spine) and an adjacent disc (round, rubbery tissue that provides a cushion between vertebrae).
Discectomy: Our surgeons can remove worn or damaged discs with an open or a minimally invasive procedure (microdiscectomy).
Disc replacement: Some of our surgeons have specialty training to replace worn or damaged discs with artificial implants.
Foraminotomy: To relieve pressure on compressed nerves, surgeons widen an opening in a vertebra where nerves leave the spinal column.
Fusion: This procedure joins two or more damaged vertebrae to stabilize the spine and relieve pain.
Kyphoplasty: This surgery restores a fractured vertebra’s shape and height. Surgeons insert a tiny balloon through a needle. They then inject a special cement into the space to repair the damaged vertebra.
Laminectomy: Surgeons remove the lamina, the back part of the vertebra, to relieve pressure on the spinal cord.
Vertebroplasty: This procedure is similar to kyphoplasty. Surgeons repair a fractured vertebra by filling it with a special cement without the initial step of creating space with a balloon.

Orthopedic Spine Care: Conditions We Treat

Our specialized team treats neck and back pain caused by many injuries and conditions.

Bone conditions

Arthritis of the spine (spondylosis)
Congenital (present at birth) spine deformities, such as scoliosis (sideways curvature of the spine)
Fractures, including traumatic vertebral compression fractures and stress fractures (spondylolysis)
Osteoporosis (progressive bone loss due to age)
Slippage or shifting of vertebrae due to arthritis or stress fracture (spondylolisthesis)

Soft tissue conditions

Degenerative disc disease
Herniated (ruptured) disc
Radiculopathy (pinched nerve) such as sciatica

General back and neck problems

Spinal stenosis (narrowed spinal canal)
Traumatic injuries
Tumors, both cancerous and noncancerous

Services vary Orthopedic Care locations.