Whether it’s a dull ache, an inability to stand, or some other discomfort, back and neck pain can make it hard to get through the day. The spine experts at Mount Sinai Doctors-Brooklyn Heights can help. We have vast experience treating the whole spine from your lower back (called the lumbar spine) to your neck (cervical spine). Often, we can treat you without surgery. If a procedure is your best option, we use minimally invasive approaches whenever possible.

We also regularly perform complex reconstructions to treat severe spinal deformities and scoliosis.

We can take care of adults and children. Our spine specialist Samuel Cho, MD, also participates in the Mount Sinai Health System’s Young Spine Program.

If you need spine surgery, you can choose Mount Sinai Doctors-Brooklyn Heights with confidence. We are here for you.

Conditions We Treat

Our doctors can help you safely return to your usual activities. We treat a wide range of conditions, including such problems as:

• Compression fractures
• Herniated discs
• Myelitis or myelopathy
• Osteoarthritis
• Sciatica
• Scoliosis
• Spinal stenosis
• Spinal tumors
• Spondylolisthesis
• Traumatic injuries and fractures

Our Services

At Mount Sinai Doctors-Brooklyn Heights, we offer both surgical and non-surgical treatments. 

Non-Surgical Treatment Options

Whenever possible, we prefer to treat spinal conditions without surgery. We use a variety of approaches, including: 

• Oral medications: We may prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, muscle relaxants, or another drug to reduce pain or inflammation. 
• Rehabilitation: If you need help with posture or muscle balance, we may develop an exercise program for you. Individualized exercises can strengthen the muscles that support the spine. We’ll show you how to perform the exercise. We can also teach you relaxation exercises and proper lifting techniques.
• Education: We are happy to explain your diagnosis and prognosis and answer any questions you may have. We can help you change your daily activities to lessen any further damage and improve your quality of life.
• Injection therapy: Sometimes we can help with pain by injecting a local anesthetic and/or steroid into the precise location in the nerves or other joint space where you need relief. Generally, we use X-rays or ultrasound imaging to guide us to the exact spot. Injection therapy can decrease inflammation or disrupt nerve signals to help manage pain. We use a variety of types of injections, including:
  • Diagnostic nerve block
  • Epidural steroid injection
  • Facet joint injection
  • Peripheral joint injection
  • Sacroiliac joint injection
  • Selective nerve root block
  • Trigger point injection
• Radiofrequency ablation: This non-surgical minimally invasive outpatient procedure uses electrical current. It heats your neural tissue and helps with chronic joint pain.
• Neuromodulation: This approach uses an implantable device, like a pacemaker, called a spinal cord stimulator. It can alter nerve signals to reduce chronic pain and improve function.
• Regenerative medicine: These use your own bodies' cells and/or plasma to decrease inflammation and pain and restore function. This is an experimental approach. 

Surgical Treatment Options

Sometimes surgery is the best approach to treat your condition. If this is the case, we use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible. This means less tissue damage, decreased pain, and a faster recovery. Our expert spine surgeons have vast experience in in the following procedures:

• Discectomy: This common procedure involves removing part of a herniated disc. It relieves pressure and irritation on the spinal nerves.
• Laminectomy: This approach consists of removing the bony roof over the spinal nerves (lamina) at the point of pain.
• Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty: Both these procedures treat spinal compression fractures. They can restore spinal height, increase spine stability, and significantly relieve your pain.
• Scoliosis correction: This approach uses a variety of techniques to straighten spinal curvatures.
• Disc replacement: This may be an option if you have severely deteriorated spinal discs.
• Spinal fusion: This technique treats spine instability due to infection, arthritis, tumors, or trauma. It can also correct deformities such as scoliosis. To perform this procedure, we fuse two or more of your spinal vertebrae using a bone graft. This creates a stable segment of bone.