Mercy Offers Innovative Treatment for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

Mercy Medical Center 

The treatment is the Intracept® Procedure – a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure which targets a nerve located in the vertebrae called the basivertebral nerve (BVN). During the procedure, the surgeon advances a specialized probe into the vertebrae and uses radiofrequency energy to heat the BVN, rendering it unable to transmit pain signals to the brain. The Intracept Procedure generally takes an hour to perform and is implant free, preserving the overall structure of the spine.

The Intracept Procedure is supported by multiple clinical studies, including two Level I randomized controlled trials and five-year data on patient outcomes. Key findings include long-term improvements in pain and function, sustained more than 5 years, sustained decrease in patients using opioids and injections long-term, and nearly 80% of patients indicated they would have the procedure again for the same condition.

“Mercy Medical Center is committed to providing our patients with safe, high-quality care that often includes the use of the latest technology and surgical techniques,” said Asha Dhamija, M.D., M.P.H., CHCQM, Chief Medical Officer, Mercy Medical Center and Johnson Memorial Hospital. “The Intracept Procedure not only targets the safe treatment and diagnosis of vertebrogenic pain, but it also provides patients with the opportunity to get back to living without the burden of chronic low back pain.”

Of the 30 million people in the U.S. with chronic low back pain, 1 in 6 are likely to have vertebrogenic pain, a distinct type of CLBP caused by damage to vertebral endplates, the interface between the disc and the vertebral body. Disc degeneration, and the wear and tear that occurs with everyday living, produces stresses on the endplates that damage them, leading to inflammation and vertebrogenic pain.

The indicated patient for the Intracept Procedure has chronic low back pain of at least six months duration, has not responded to at least six months of conservative care, and presents with degenerative vertebral endplate changes consistent with Type 1 or Type 2 Modic changes at L3 through S1 on an MRI.