Interventional Spine Care & Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) in Memphis & Mid-South

When an inflamed disc or bone spur compresses spinal nerve roots, patients often experience acute radiating nerve pain (sciatica), numbness, tingling, and debilitating muscle weakness. While general systemic medications circulate throughout the entire body, precision fluoroscopy-guided spine injections deliver high-potency anti-inflammatory therapy directly to the irritated nerve interface.

At OrthoSouth, our board-certified PM&R and interventional spine specialists perform all spinal injections in dedicated procedural suites using continuous, real-time fluoroscopic (live X-ray) guidance and contrast dye verification. This ensures millimeter-level accuracy, protects adjacent neurovascular structures, and maximizes clinical efficacy.

• Lumbar & Cervical Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections (TFESI): Direct delivery of targeted corticosteroids into the neuroforaminal exit canal, rapidly soothing nerve root inflammation caused by disc herniations, spinal stenosis, and radiculopathy.
• Caudal & Interlaminar Epidural Injections: Comprehensive relief for widespread multi-level spinal stenosis or centralized lower back pain.
• Diagnostic & Therapeutic Joint Injections: Targeted local anesthetic and corticosteroid delivery into specific facet joints to pinpoint and calm localized arthritis pain.

Clinical Benefits & Recovery:

• Instant Diagnostic Feedback: Local anesthetic provides immediate confirmation of the precise pain generator.
• Rapid Outpatient Care: Procedures typically take 15-20 minutes with zero surgical incisions and same-day discharge.
• Rehabilitation Enablement: Significant pain reduction provides an open therapeutic window to actively participate in restorative Physical Therapy.

Chronic neck, upper back, and lower back stiffness that worsens when twisting, bending backward, or standing for prolonged periods is often driven by facet joint arthrosis. When conservative therapies offer only fleeting relief, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)—also known as radiofrequency neurotomy or rhizotomy—provides prolonged, non-surgical relief.

RFA works by interrupting pain transmission. Using targeted thermal energy, our physiatrists gently desensitize the specific sensory nerves (medial branches) that transmit pain signals from arthritic spinal joints to the brain, halting chronic pain feedback loops without impairing normal motor function or limb strength.

Clinical Benefits & Recovery:

• Pain Relief: Patients can experience significant pain reduction.
• Repeatable, Non-Surgical Care: RFA can be repeated if nerve regeneration occurs, avoiding spinal fusion or hardware placement.
• Restored Daily Mobility: Can improve standing tolerance, neck rotation, and walking capacity without long-term opioid medications.

Joint degeneration and chronic tendon pathology shouldn't automatically mean joint replacement surgery. Our PM&R physicians utilize specialized in-office injections to preserve native joint function, calm bursal inflammation, and stabilize painful soft-tissue structures across the hips, knees, shoulders, and pelvis.

• Viscosupplementation (Gel Hyaluronic Acid Therapy): Lubricating injections for moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis that replenish depleted synovial fluid, reduce joint friction, and act as a natural shock absorber.
• Targeted Corticosteroid Therapy: Fast-acting anti-inflammatory treatment for subacromial bursitis, trochanteric (hip) bursitis, adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder), and acute joint flares.
• Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Injections: Targeted therapeutic relief for sharp buttock, hip, and groin pain caused by sacroiliac joint dysfunction or pelvic instability.

Clinical Benefits & Recovery:

• No Surgical Downtime: Walk out immediately following your appointment and resume normal daily routines within 24 hours.
• Joint Preservation: Extends the functional lifespan of native joints and delays or prevents the need for joint replacement.

Accurately resolving radiating nerve pain, unexplained weakness, or numbness requires identifying the exact site of neural compression. OrthoSouth physiatrists can perform comprehensive on-site electrodiagnostic evaluations combining Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS) and Electromyography (EMG) to objectively map your peripheral nervous system.

Rather than relying solely on static MRI imaging—which reveals spinal anatomy but cannot evaluate live nerve performance—electrodiagnostics measure real-time electrical signal speed and muscle response to determine whether nerve dysfunction is occurring at the spinal cord root, plexus, or peripheral extremities.

• Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS): Small surface sensors evaluate the velocity and amplitude of electrical impulses moving down peripheral nerves, rapidly detecting focal compressions.
• Electromyography (EMG): A thin, specialized needle electrode measures electrical activity within specific muscle groups at rest and during contraction, identifying active denervation or axonal injury.

Clinical Diagnoses Evaluated:

• Sciatica vs. Peroneal Nerve Entrapment: Differentiating true lumbar nerve root compression (radiculopathy) from localized knee or lower-leg entrapments.
• Cervical Radiculopathy vs. Upper Extremity Compression: Distinguishing pinched neck nerves from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Cubital Tunnel Syndrome at the elbow.
• Peripheral Neuropathy: Evaluating systemic polyneuropathies versus focal orthopedic nerve damage.