Spinal pain, which includes discomfort from the neck down to the lower back, is common, with 80 percent of the population experiencing it at least once over a lifetime. Finding the cause of spinal pain, tingling, numbness, or stiffness and then treating it most often involves the skills of several physicians and other health care professionals. Often, the challenge is knowing where to turn to find the best specialists for your own unique, and often complex, spinal issues.
The Valley Health System Spine Center offers solutions. Our center brings together the expertise of medical, surgical, and rehabilitation specialists to provide patients with highly skilled diagnostic care, treatment, and ongoing management of acute and chronic conditions of the spine.
All it takes is just one call to our Spine Center patient navigator at 201-689-3800 to get on the right path toward healing.
One Spot for Your Spine
Neck and back pain, stiffness, or numbness can be debilitating and may interfere with your ability to care for your family, perform your job, drive, sleep, and function in your daily activities.
The goal of Valley's Spine Center is to make it convenient for patients to access appropriate medical care quickly and easily through one call to the center’s dedicated medical navigator. Whether an acute, sudden injury or a chronic condition, the team at the Spine Center collaborates to help patients find pain relief, heal, and prevent future injuries.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating spine issues. When you call the Spine Center at 201-689-3800, you will be connected with a dedicated advanced practice provider with decades of experience providing pain management for patients with back and neck conditions. This navigator will conduct an over-the-phone evaluation with you and then assist you in scheduling the appropriate appointments for tests, imaging studies, and physician visits. We can also assist you by assessing your health insurance coverage for tests and treatment.
Based on this personal evaluation, it may be best to see one or more of the Spine Center’s board-certified experts: a physiatrist, pain medicine specialists, a neurologist, and an orthopedic or neurosurgical spine specialist.
The Spine Center will usually schedule you to see a physician or advanced practice provider within 24 to 48 hours in person or for a telemedicine appointment.
Conditions Treated
Valley's Spine Center specialists diagnose and treat the following and almost every back and neck condition:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Lower back pain
- Sciatica
- Pinched nerve
- Scoliosis
- Stiffness, tingling, numbness of the back and neck
- Spinal stenosis
- Herniated disc disease
- Complex regional pain syndrome
- Spine tumors
- Arthritis
- Myelopathy
- Radiculopathy
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spinal instability
- Osteoporosis
- Work-related back and neck injuries
- Falls and compression fractures
- Post-traumatic injuries
- Post-surgical recovery
Treatment Options
Conservative Therapies
Many spine and neck conditions can be treated conservatively at first with non-surgical, non-invasive, or minimally invasive modalities. Your physician may recommend Valley’s Pain Management Center, which provides today’s most advanced pain-relieving methods, or physical therapy at one of Valley’s rehabilitation medicine centers.
Your treatment plan may include one or more of these conservative therapies:
- Medication
- Physical and/or occupational therapy
- Pain management techniques
- Hot/cold compressions
- Nerve blocks
- Injections of steroids or other medications
- Acupuncture
- Radiofrequency ablation
Neurologic Treatment
Neurologic issues – such as tingling, numbness, and weakness – are associated with back and neck conditions and can often be treated conservatively with medication or other modalities. The Spine Center’s neurologists may evaluate your symptoms using imaging studies, an electromyography (EMG) test, or other tests.
Some back issues result in incontinence, which is diagnosed and treated by a urologist, a physician specializing in conditions of the urinary system in men and women and in the male reproductive system. Your neurologist may refer you to a Valley urologist for an incontinence evaluation.
Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Spine Surgery
The Spine Center’s spine neurosurgeons and orthopedic spine surgeons diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses of the spine, both conservatively and surgically.
If surgery is the best treatment, Valley’s new Paramus hospital features several state-of-the-art operating rooms that are dedicated to neurosurgery. These operating rooms are set up at all times for both traditional and minimally invasive procedures. They feature larger spaces to accommodate intraoperative CT scanning and MRI technology and innovations such as intraoperative navigation (a surgeon’s “GPS”), and tools called tubular retractors that enable surgeons to access the spine through small incisions.
The benefits of minimally invasive spine surgery through small incisions include reduced pain and blood loss, less trauma to tissues, and a faster, easier recovery so patients can get home to their family and work activities.
From the Emergency Department
A patient may also be referred to the Spine Center from the Emergency Department if they have experienced an urgent back or neck injury. Valley’s orthopedic spine specialists and spine neurosurgeons are available at all times to evaluate these injuries.
Patients who come to the ED with neurologic symptoms are evaluated by a neurologist in the ED or by a member of Valley’s teleneurology practice, which provides around-the-clock coverage every day.
If stroke symptoms are present, the patient will be diagnosed and treated quickly through Valley’s Stroke Center emergency pathway. Valley has been designated a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, attesting to our comprehensive services, expert stroke team, and ability to provide life-saving treatment within the most advantageous timeframe.
- A comprehensive team approach: The Spine Center uses a team approach with experienced specialists in pain management, neurology, orthopedics, neurosurgery, physiatry, sports medicine, rehabilitation medicine, and advanced practice providers.
- State-of-the-art facility: Valley’s new Paramus hospital is a state-of-the-art facility featuring the most advanced diagnostic and treatment capabilities for all types of back and neck conditions that may require surgery, inpatient care, or outpatient treatment.
- Easy access: Valley Health System’s vast network of healthcare facilities, including The Valley Hospital, the Pain Management Center, outpatient sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, and affiliated outpatient physician practices makes it easy to access spinal care experts from Valley.
Above all, at Valley’s Spine Center we take the time to listen to you, understand how your condition impacts your life, and coordinate your appointments and health insurance to make it easier for you to get the spine care you need so you can improve your quality of life.
