The Specialty of Interventional Pain Care has made great strides over the last several decades, but some pain continues to evade our advanced techniques.  The problem is that pain comes from many sources and cannot always be eliminated by one therapy.

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There are different kinds of pain that originate from the spine;  Arthritis pain, Discogenic pain, Stenotic pain, and others.  Recently, a new pain has been recognized and defined.

VERTEBROGENIC PAIN

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Vertebrogenic pain arises from within the bones of the spine.  Each vertebrae has an upper and lower endplate that lies next to the adjacent disc.  These endplates can deteriorate over time into different levels of degeneration.  These changes are noted on MRI and classified as Modic changes.

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The nerve responsible for pain at the endplates has now been identified.  It is called the

BASIVERTEBRAL NERVE

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​The OPTABLATE procedure involves the insertion of an electrode into the vertebral body to the site of the BASIVERTEBRAL NERVE.  Once in place, the electrode produces a radiofrequency impulse that disables the basivertebral nerve relieving pain derived from the endplates.  This is a permanent process.