What We Treat

NeuPath Centre for Pain & Spine is Canada's largest network of interdisciplinary pain centres providing assessment and rehabilitation services to clients with complex neck and back pain, soft-tissue musculoskeletal pain and other complex soft-tissue pain conditions.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of bones wears down over time. Because of this, osteoarthritis pain often is felt in the joints eg. Hands, knees, hips and spine. It is often referred to as degenerative joint disease or “wear and tear arthritis”.

Acute Sprain/Strains

Patients are said to have sprain or strain injuries when they injure the soft issue or muscles in their bodies. Sprains are commonly known as injuries to bands of tissues that connect bones together while strains are injuries to muscles or bands of tissues that connect muscles to bones. Sprains and strains are often accompanied by swelling and patients will experience pain that can be tender and throbbing or can be felt as cramping or spasms.

Arthritis & Musculoskeletal Pain

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Musculoskeletal pain affects bones, joints, ligaments, tendons or muscles. An injury such as a fracture may cause sudden, severe pain. A chronic condition like arthritis may also cause pain. If musculoskeletal pain interferes with your usual activities, speak with a healthcare provider. The right treatment can help relieve the pain.

Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work, and is a leading cause of disability worldwide. It can range from a muscle aching to a shooting, burning or stabbing sensation. Back pain often develops without a cause that your doctor can identify with a test or an imaging study. Anyone can develop back pain, even children and teens.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway in the wrist of a patient that is surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of the hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve in the wrist is compressed or crowded, leading to symptoms of numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand or arm.

Cervical Spine Pain

The cervical spine refers to the upper part of the back or spine. Cervical spine pain will be felt in or around a patient’s neck or shoulder girdle region and can be felt as stiffness, nagging soreness, muscle spasms or headaches.

Cervicogenic Headache (CGH)

Cervicogenic headache (CGH) occurs when pain is referred from a specific source in the neck up to the head. This pain is commonly a steady ache or dull feeling, but sometimes the pain intensity can worsen. CGH symptoms are usually side-locked, which means they occur on one side of the neck, head, and/or face.

Chronic Headaches

A patient who has headaches as many days as not — at least 15 days per month — is said to have chronic daily headache (CDH). Not a specific type of headache, CDH is rather a descriptive term applied to any number of headache types. Headaches that can occur on a daily or near daily basis include Cluster,
Hemicrania continua, Idiopathic intracranial hypotension, Migraine and Tension headaches.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is a broad term describing excess and prolonged pain and inflammation that follows an injury to an arm or leg. CRPS has acute (recent, short-term) and chronic (lasting greater than six months) forms. CRPS used to be known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia. People with CRPS have changing combinations of spontaneous pain or excess pain that is much greater than normal following something as mild as a touch. Other symptoms include changes in skin color, temperature, and/or swelling on the arm or leg below the site of injury. Although CRPS improves over time, eventually going away in most people, the rare severe or prolonged cases are profoundly disabling.

Concussion

Patients are said to suffer from a concussion if they experience an injury caused by a blow or jolt to the head, often due to the body being hit in a manner that cause the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. Concussions are also often referred to as a type of traumatic brain injury or TBI. Concussion symptoms experienced by patients include headaches, nausea, balance or dizziness, sensitivity to light or sound, confusion and an overall sense of feeling unwell.

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and non-painful signals. While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms. Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also may help.

Head and Neck Pain

Having neck pain alone is challenging enough, especially if it involves neck stiffness and reduced head mobility. When headache is also present, additional problems may include increased pain, visual disturbances, concentration issues, dizziness, or others. Getting an accurate diagnosis is important in order to create a treatment program to successfully manage the condition and reduce pain.

Lumbar Spine Pain

The lower part of the back is called the “lumbar spine”. Lumbar back pain or low back pain is pain that is experienced and may range from a dull ache, to a stabbing or shooting sensation.

Migraine

A patient may be said to be suffering from a migraine if he or she has headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation. Sometimes migraine pain will be specific to one side of the head. Patients with migraines may also experience nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours to days, and the pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily activities.

Motor Vehicle or Work-Related Injuries

The different injuries resulting from a car accident can be as varied as the individual circumstances of each collision. Not all motor vehicle accident injuries are easily identified, but internal injuries can cause long-term and even chronic widespread pain.

A workplace injury can vary from something relatively minor, such as a small cut or bruise, to a fatal accident. One of the most common causes of workplace injuries are due to overexertion, slip and fall accidents due to debris or wet floors, falls from heights due to faulty equipment, getting entangled in a machine, repetitive motion injuries, hearing loss due to noisy environments and workplace violence.

Myofascial Pain

Myofascial Pain syndrome is a chronic pain disorder. In this condition, pressure on sensitive points in your muscles (trigger points) causes pain in the muscle and sometimes in seemingly unrelated parts of your body. This is called referred pain.

Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain is often described as a shooting or burning pain. It can go away on its own but is often chronic. Sometimes it is unrelenting and severe, and sometimes it comes and goes. It often is the result of nerve damage or a malfunctioning nervous system

Post-Surgical Pain Syndromes

Post-Surgical Pain is defined as pain lasting more than 3 to 6 months after surgery. The pain differs in quality and location from pain experienced prior to surgery, and is usually associated with iatrogenic neuropathic pain caused by surgical injury to a major peripheral nerve.

Shoulder and Arm Pain

The shoulder has a wide and versatile range of motion. When something goes wrong with your shoulder, it hampers your ability to move freely and can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort. The most common cause of right shoulder and arm pain is an issue with your rotator cuff, such as tendinitis or bursitis. Other potential causes include fractures, arthritis, and cervical radiculopathy.

Sports Injuries

Sports injuries are commonly caused by overuse, direct impact, or the application of force that is greater than the body part can structurally withstand. Common injuries include bruises, sprains, strains, joint injuries and nose bleeds. Different sports injuries produce different symptoms and complications.

Thoracic Spine Pain

The thoracic spine (and can be referred to as middle or upper back) is the longest region of the spine and connects to both the cervical spine and lumbar spine. Pain in this region, is experienced as a dull aching pain, an electric shock-like pain or a sharp stabbing pain. The pain can be continuous or can come and go over time.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a condition characterized by pain coming from the trigeminal nerve, which starts near the top of the ear and splits in three, toward the eye, cheek and jaw. We have two trigeminal nerves for each side of our face, but trigeminal neuralgia pain most commonly affects only one side. The main symptom of trigeminal neuralgia is sudden attacks of severe, sharp, shooting facial pain that last from a few seconds to about 2 minutes. The pain is often described as excruciating, like an electric shock. The attacks can be so severe that you're unable to do anything while they're happening.

Whiplash Related Injuries

Whiplash is a neck injury due to forceful, rapid back-and-forth movement of the neck, like the cracking of a whip. Whiplash is commonly caused by rear-end car accidents. But whiplash can also result from sports accidents, physical abuse and other types of traumas, such as a fall. The long-term effects of whiplash can include chronic pain and stiffness in the neck and shoulders, ongoing bouts of dizziness, ringing in the ears that is constant or comes and goes.