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Blake A Johnson MD is Director
of CNS Imaging at the Center for
Diagnostic Imaging. Dr. Johnson
completed his undergraduate work
and received his medical degree
from the University of Minnesota.
After radiology residency training,
he completed a neuroradiology
fellowship at the Barrow
Neurological Institute in Phoenix,
Arizona. His first appointment
brought him to California, where he
served as a staff neuroradiologist,
and subsequently as Chief of
Neuroradiology, at the David Grant
Medical Center at the Travis Air
Force Base. He was also an Assistant
Clinical Professor of Radiology at
the University of California,
San Francisco.
Dr. Johnson has authored and
co-authored numerous articles and
book chapters on topics including
intracranial pathology, head and
neck imaging and spine injection
procedures. He lectures extensively
on these areas of interest, at both
national and international forums. |
Image-guided pain management
Blake A Johnson, MD
Center for Diagnostic Imaging, St Louis Park, MN, USA
Address for correspondence:
Blake A Johnson, MD
Director of CNS Imaging
Center for Diagnostic Imaging
5775 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 190
St. Louis Park, MN 55416, USA
Tel: +1 (952) 525-6304 Fax: +1 (952) 543-6524
Email: bjohnson@cdirad.com
Abstract
Image-guided spine injection procedures provide
a minimally invasive tool for the evaluation and
treatment of symptoms caused by degenerative
changes in the spine. Neck, back and radicular pain
typically represent a diagnostic challenge because
multilevel pathology is common and a number of
structures may be involved. Anatomical assessment of
intervertebral discs, ligaments, nerve roots, facet joints,
sacroiliac joints and paraspinous soft tissues is
important, but not conclusive, for evaluating the source
of pain symptoms. Spine injection procedures provide
functional and physiological information which are not
obtained from physical examination and imaging
studies, and therefore serve as an important adjunct
to the diagnostic process. Many of the procedures
performed are used for preoperative evaluation in
order to improve surgical outcomes through the
confirmation of suspected sources of symptoms and
the exclusion of adjacent levels or structures. In
addition, these procedures are utilised as pain
management modalities, in order to decrease
dependence on oral pain medication, increase physical
performance and facilitate rapid return to normal
activities of daily living and vocational pursuits.
Image-guided procedures are typically performed using
fluoroscopy, computed tomography and, less commonly,
magnetic resonance imaging. In this section, we review
a number of image-guided interventional spine
procedures utilised for pain management.
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