Back Pain Care from Our Orthopedic and Pain Management Team
Most back and neck pain doesn't need surgery, and more often than not, it doesn't need a specialist right away either. Our orthopedic and pain management teams focus on the space in between: real treatment for back and neck pain that goes beyond rest and ibuprofen, without jumping straight to the operating room.
One thing worth being upfront about: if surgery does turn out to be the right answer for you, that's handled by our Neurosurgery team, not by orthopedics. We'll tell you honestly if that's the direction your care needs to go, and point you there directly rather than keeping you in the wrong place.
Conditions We Treat
Our Approach to Back Pain
We start conservative, almost always. Physical therapy built around your specific weaknesses, exercises to strengthen the muscles and ligaments that support your spine, and practical changes to how you move, sit, and lift during the day. Most people attend therapy weekly for several weeks, with exercises to keep up on their own in between.
For a lot of people, that's enough on its own. Paired with activity modification and, when appropriate, short-term medication, conservative physical therapy resolves the large majority of back and neck pain without ever needing an injection or a scalpel.
Interventional Treatments
When conservative care alone isn't cutting it, interventional treatment is the next step, not surgery. Epidural steroid injections can calm inflammation and nerve irritation directly at the source, often bringing real relief for weeks or months at a time. Other options include radiofrequency ablation, which interrupts the nerve signals causing chronic pain, and targeted nerve blocks. These procedures come through our Pain Management team, working alongside your orthopedic provider rather than in place of them.
When You Might Need Spine Surgery
Surgery isn't usually the answer, and most people never need it, but it's an honest option we want you to know about. Significant nerve compression, spinal instability, or progressive weakness are the kinds of things that make a surgical evaluation worth having. A few symptoms call for emergency care rather than a routine visit: sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin area, or rapidly worsening leg weakness.
Short of an emergency, our team starts with a thorough evaluation. If surgery does look like the right path forward, we refer you directly to our Neurosurgery team's spine surgery program, rather than leaving you to figure out the next step on your own.
Find a Back Pain Doctor Near You
Back pain doesn't wait for a convenient time, and your care shouldn't either. Our orthopedic and pain management providers see patients at locations across Northwestern, Central, and Southwestern Pennsylvania. Use our Find a Doctor tool to locate the provider and location nearest you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rarely. About 85% of back pain resolves without surgery, through conservative treatment or interventional procedures like injections. Surgery becomes a real conversation only for a smaller group of cases involving nerve compression, instability, or certain warning-sign symptoms.
It varies widely. A strain from overexertion might improve within days to weeks with rest and activity changes, while nerve-related pain, like sciatica, can take longer. Pain lasting beyond a few weeks, or getting worse rather than better, is worth having evaluated.
Physical therapy builds strength and mobility to address what's causing your pain long-term. Pain management uses medication and procedures like injections to reduce pain more directly. Many patients use both together rather than one instead of the other.
Go straight to the emergency room for sudden loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness in the groin area, or rapidly worsening leg weakness. These can signal a serious nerve issue that needs immediate attention, not a scheduled visit.
It depends on your plan and, sometimes, which provider you're seeing. Ask your insurance plan directly, or reach out to our team and we'll help you sort out what's required.
