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Spine/Back Pain, Procedures, Treatments


South County Health Spine Care

Back pain, which can often be connected to the spine, is one of the most widespread health problems – affecting 4 out of 5 Americans in their lifetime. Living with this pain and its physical limitations can take a toll on your quality of life. Our goal at South County Hospital is to pinpoint the cause of your pain as it relates to the spine and develop the best care plan for you, by drawing from our wide array of advanced non-surgical and surgical treatment options. 

Meet the doctor

Orthopedic Spine Surgeon Ian Madom, MD, of Ortho Rhode Island, is committed to an approach that’s tailored to your needs. He offers a wide range of non-surgical, minimally invasive, and surgical techniques for the treatment of back and neck problems. These treatments help provide pain relief and help restore function so that you can resume your activities at work and at home. His conservative approach can make surgery unnecessary, or delay the need for surgery as a treatment option. He may suggest methods such as guided injections, specialized physical therapy, biofeedback, exercise, activity modification, and medication.

Partners in your care

We believe in patient-centered care that includes informed and shared decision-making. Patients receive a complete evaluation by Dr. Madom or a physicians assistant, as well as a thorough explanation of their symptoms and of non-operative and operative treatment options. We are committed to listening to and guiding the patient with respect and compassion. Through this process, we empower our patients to make the best decision for their treatment.

Dr. Madom’s Focus

Dr. Madom focuses on the following conditions among others:

Cervical and Lumbar Stenosis: the narrowing of the spinal canal in the bones of the cervical vertebrae (bones in the neck) or the lumbar vertebrae (bones of the lower back) that causes pinching of the spinal cord in the neck, or spinal nerves in the lower back; this results in weakness of the neck, legs and arms, pain, stiffness, numbness, and can cause nerve damage; this may be caused by the disks between the vertebrae bulging father out than normal or bone spurs that develop with arthritis in the neck and back.

Cervical Myelopathy: refers to spinal cord compression due to the narrowing of the spine in the neck (Cervical Stenosis); symptoms are a heavy feeling in the legs, inability to walk briskly, deterioration of motor skill (handwriting or buttoning a shirt,) bursts of shooting pain through extremities and a loss of balance.

Neurogenic Claudication: a condition that results from compression of nerves in the lumbar region of the spine (lower back); this most commonly results in a lack of blood flow to the nerves that control the legs; important symptoms to know are tingling, pain or cramping in the lower back that can radiate down one or both legs, hips and buttocks; this is caused by Spinal Stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal)

Disc Herniation (both Cervical and Lumbar): occurs when the discs between the vertebrae (the bones of the back) become damaged and consequently rupture (break open), causing a fragment of the disc to become dislodged and pinch a nerve; disc herniation most commonly occurs in the cervical (neck) area or lumbar (lower) part of the spine; the usual causes of herniation are ‘wear and tear’ from age or strenuous manual labor, but can also occur due to trauma; symptoms include pain, weakness or numbness in the arms and hands (cervical), or the legs and feet (lumbar).

Radiculopathy: a condition caused by a compressed nerve in the spinal column can cause numbness, tingling, weakness or pain of arms and legs; radiculopathy is found most commonly in the cervical (neck) area leading to arm symptoms, and lumbar (lower) portion of the spine, leading to leg symptoms.  Many people refer to this condition in the legs as “sciatica”.

Common conditions Dr. Madom treats

  • Herniated disk (rupture of a disk in the neck or lower back)
  • Spinal stenosis (narrowing of the canal surrounding the spinal cord and/or spinal nerves)
  • Radiculopathy (shooting pain down the arm or leg)
  • Cervical myelopathy (damage to the spinal cord in the neck region)
  • Spondylolysis (defect in a segment of bone in the lower back)
  • Spondylolisthesis (slippage or displacement of one vertebra relative to another)
  • Degenerative disorders of the spine
  • Trauma (fractures)
  • Sciatica (nerve pain the runs into the buttocks and leg)

Surgical treatments and techniques

  • Minimally invasive spine surgery
  • Traditional spine surgery
  • Cervical disk replacement
  • Spinal fusion

What to expect

During your initial appointment, Dr. Madom will perform a complete evaluation. Some tests may be necessary at that time, including x-rays, CT scans and MRIs.

Based on the findings, an initial diagnosis will be made. Then he will develop an individualized treatment plan to address your unique set of conditions and lifestyle goals.