Monterey Spine - A Regional Spine Center
Most people at some time in their lives will have an attack of back pain or neck pain. That’s the bad news. The good news is that 80% of the time, these back pain or neck pain symptoms will go away on their own with time, some anti-inflammatory medicine and some movement.
It’s the other 20% of those with back and neck symptoms that can over time become complex problems. Many of these back pain sufferers are doomed to endless visits to the back doctor. That's because once you have your first back pain attack, you are four times more likely to have a recurrence.
If you have back or neck pain, we are now in a position to help.
Monterey Spine is a multidisciplinary, regional center of excellence for the treatment of back and neck problems. Monterey Spine acts as a regional spine center serving the Monterey Bay region, including the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara. The specialized spine expertise of the Monterey-based spine center attracts patients from a wide area, including residents of cities like Salinas, Pebble Beach, Hollister, Carmel, Seaside, Marina and inland Northern California like Fresno and Clovis.
The spine center includes the expertise of
- Sohrab Gollogly, MD, a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon
- Dragan Dimitrov, MD, a neurosurgeon who specializes in spine surgery
- Gary Chang, MD, a pain management specialist who helps patients recover from symptoms without surgery with spinal injections and other techniques
- Laurie Ann Kleinman, MD, a physical medicine specialist who also specializes in non-surgical treatment options, EMGs and other diagnostic tests
- A team of spine-specialized physical therapists
This team of Dr. Gollogly, Dr. Dimitrov, Dr. Chang, and Dr. Kleinman is able to care for any type of back or neck problem, from simple back or neck strain all the way to complex spine surgery.
Monterey Spine also has an internal exercise gym, with spine therapists who have advanced training in back pain and neck pain. Because Monterey Spine has X-ray and physical therapy under one roof, the back or neck pain patient no longer has to drive around town for care. All the necessary diagnostic testing and non-operative treatment under one roof eliminates the need for multiple referrals, delayed care and confusion.
Monterey Joint
Monterey Spine shares space with a related and synergistic specialty center that deals with hip replacement, knee replacement and other orthopedic joint problems. This includes the expertise of Chris Meckel, MD, a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hip pain and knee pain, including total joint replacement.
Because sometimes herniated discs in the neck can masquerade as shoulder pain, and because herniated discs in the low back can cause pain symptoms that radiate excruciating pain into the hip and leg, it’s not uncommon for many patients to be misdiagnosed by other centers before coming into the front door of Monterey Spine and Monterey Joint. Sadly, many back patients assume their hip pain is from a degenerated hip when the true source of pain might be a herniated disc in the back, or vice versa.
By sharing space with a complementary specialty center and fellowship-trained specialist, patients who come to both Monterey Spine and Monterey Joint benefit from the synergy created from all of this medical expertise assembled under one roof. Instead of having to be referred around town, a patient on a single visit, can have diagnostic tests that determine the true source of pain, whether that be in the neck or low back, or in a hip or shoulder joint. The patient on that single visit can consult with the exact specialist needed to address their pain symptoms.
A nonsurgical approach to back and neck pain
What makes our spine cen ter unique is its emphasis on a non-surgical approach to back and neck problems. Monterey Spine includes physicians who specialize in non-surgical treatment of back and neck pain. They are often able to help many patients resolve their back or neck pain symptoms without the need for spine surgery.
However, sometimes, spine surgery may be unavoidable. This may because symptoms of radiating pain have not responded to non-surgical treatment options like injection therapy of customized spine physical therapy. In other cases, some symptoms like weakness or numbness in a leg or hand, or loss of control of bowel or bladder, represent emergency symptoms where back or neck surgery must be done quickly to prevent permanent paralysis of the nerves that relate to these muscles or extremities.
When spine surgery is necessary
If your back or neck problem requires surgery, Monterey Spine has fellowship-trained, board-certified spine surgeons who already are referred the most complex surgical cases across Northern California. These cases include herniated discs, spinal fractures, spinal deformity, spinal tumor and scoliosis.
These spine surgeons use some of the most advanced instrumentation and spine surgery techniques. Because of the minimally invasive techniques used by Monterey Spine surgeons, many patients are able to have their spine surgery in the morning and then return home the same day to recover in the comfort of their own home.
Pain relief through a focus on function
Pain is a signal from the body to the brain that something is wrong. Either the back is too weak, too inflexible, something lifted was too heavy or the wrong body mechanics were used. And, unfortunately, those doctors who focus exclusively on pain symptoms often recommend a course of treatment that is the exact opposite of what the individual needs to recover from the back problem.
Years ago, for example, doctors treated back pain with bed rest and heavy drugs to mask the discomfort. It was found, however, that this type of treatment was actually damaging to the back, because it caused muscles in the back to get weaker, in turn, causing more strain and pain. Patients became more dependent on drugs and grew more inactive and disabled.
In fact, pain relief actually can come through movement. Low-impact sports like walking and swimming are the best way to make the back feel better and stronger.
Monterey Spine uses written clinical protocols to improve care and reduce treatment variation — the essence of true quality management. This enables us to make sure the right thing is done at the right time, every time. This also makes sure that every nonsurgical option has been explored — such as therapy and injections — before spine surgery is considered.
While others talk about quality, we measure outcomes with patient severity data at intake and functional status post treatment. Lastly, we audit patient satisfaction so we can continually improve, because that's what quality is all about.
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