Dr. Rush graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in 1996 and completed a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2000. Unlike other medical specialties that focus on a medical cure, the goals of a physiatrist are to maximize a patient’s independence in activities of daily living and improve quality of life. Outpatient physiatrists manage nonsurgical conditions including orthopedic injuries, spine related pain, occupational injuries, spasticity management, osteoporosis, and chronic pain.
For the past 15 years, Dr. Rush has focused his practice on Interventional Spine medicine, utilizing minimally invasive procedures and special imaging technology to not only pinpoint the location of the pain, but treat it right it at its source. When it comes to treating conditions like herniated discs, sciatica, and lumbar stenosis, some commonly used procedures include:
Epidural injections (in all areas of the spine): the use of anesthetic and steroid medications injected into the epidural space to relieve pain or diagnose a specific condition.
Facet joint injections: an injection used to determine if the facet joints are the source of pain. These injections can also provide pain relief.
Discography: an “inside” look into the discs to determine if they are the source of a patient’s pain. This procedure involves the use of a dye that is injected into a disc and then examined using x-ray or CT scan.
Radiofrequency Neurotomy (PRFN): a minimally invasive procedure that disables spinal nerves and prevents them from transmitting pain signals to the brain.
Spinal cord stimulation: the use of electrical impulses that are used to block the pain from being perceived in the brain.
