BOISE -- if you're suffering from back pain, surgery may not be your only option.
In Meridian, Dr. Chris Gussner of Idaho Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is helping people find some relief with a procedure that uses heat to damage nerves that are causing pain.
It's called radiofrequency neurotomy.
In two different phases of testing the doctor determines exactly where the nerve is causing the pain.
"So what we do for safety, is give a stimulation. And we will do a sensory stimulation and they will say yes I feel it in my back, no I don't feel it in my legs. And we'll do a motor stimulation that will cause a muscle twitch in the back, but there should be no muscle twitching down the leg," said Dr. Gussner.
When the exact spot is found, Dr. Gussner sends extreme heat through the needle to basically damage the nerve.
"You are burning the nerve. You're destroying that nerve, but nerves do regenerate. So that's why the pain can come back after six months," said Dr. Gussner.
Dr. Gussner goes onto say the radiofrequency neurotomy isn't a permanent solution, most patients get about six months of relief and do it again.
Clifford Wellington is one of Dr. Gussner's patients. At 80 years old, his arthritis had caused him back pain for years. In October he had the radiofrequency procedure done, and when asked to describe his pain three months later, he told NewsChannel 7 that his back no longer hurt.
There is some extensive testing done beforehand to determine if a patient is a good candidate for radiofrequency.
To find out more on the procedure you can go to KTVB.COM and hit the hotlink or call Idaho Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at (208) 884-1333.
