Vertiflex Specialist
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Innovative Pain and Spine Center
Board Certified Physician in Pain Management & in Physical Medicine located in Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, CA
As you get older, it’s natural to develop degenerative changes in your spine. One such condition, lumbar spinal stenosis, causes pinched nerves and chronic lower back pain. When conservative therapies fail to help, Matthew Root, DO, at Innovative Pain and Spine Center in Toluca Lake offers an effective option: the Vertiflex® Superion® Indirect Decompression System. To learn if you’re a good candidate for this advanced device, call the office in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, or schedule an appointment online today.
Vertiflex Q & A
What is Vertiflex?
Vertiflex is the name of the company that developed the Superion® Indirect Decompression System or more simply, the Superion. The Superion system is a cutting-edge device specifically designed to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.
When conservative therapies fail to improve spinal stenosis symptoms, the Superion gives you a safe and effective alternative to surgical decompression.
Dr. Root performs a minimally invasive procedure to implant the Superion between two of your vertebrae. The device decompresses the spine, removing pressure on spinal nerves and alleviating your pain.
What should I know about lumbar spinal stenosis?
Lumbar spinal stenosis occurs when a degenerative condition narrows the spinal canal in your lower back. The top causes of spinal stenosis include a herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, thickened ligaments, and bone spurs due to facet joint arthritis.
These conditions cause a protrusion into the spinal canal that pushes against the nearby spinal nerves. Compressed nerves result in chronic lower back pain, pain that radiates down your legs, and tingling or numbness in your legs.
How does the Vertiflex Superion work?
Each vertebra has a bony projection called the spinous process that sticks out from the back of the bone. The Superion implant fits between the spinous processes of two adjacent vertebrae.
After the implant is in place, two wing-like attachments open. These wings have a U-shape that fits around the spinous processes of the vertebrae above and below the Superion device. When the wings are deployed, they hold the two vertebrae apart, which decompresses the nerves.
What happens when the Vertiflex Superion is implanted?
Dr. Root inserts the Superion during an outpatient procedure. He uses fluoroscopy, a specialized real-time X-ray, to see your vertebrae and guide the device into the proper position.
After making a small incision, Dr. Root separates the muscles using a series of tubes that gradually stretch the muscle fibers. Your recovery is quicker because the muscles aren’t cut, allowing them to quickly return to their original position when your procedure is finished.
When the opening is large enough to accommodate a narrow instrument, Dr. Root inserts the Vertiflex Superion between the two spinous processes and deploys the wings. He verifies their position, then removes the instrument and closes the incision.
If you suffer from ongoing lower back pain due to lumbar spinal stenosis, call Innovative Pain and Spine Center or schedule an appointment online.
