The Spine and Back Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago offers the expertise of specialists from different disciplines, pinpointing and treating the sources of spine, back and neck pain while providing the latest, most innovative nonsurgical and surgical treatment options.

At Rush, highly trained neurosurgeons, orthopedic spine surgeons and physiatrists (doctors who specialize in physical rehabilitation), nurses and physical therapists treat spine, neck and back conditions.

Physicians at Rush, ranked among the top U.S. hospitals for orthopedics and neurology and neurosurgery in U.S.News & World Report's 2011 "America's Best Hospitals" issue, treat patients with spine, back and neck problems from all over the Midwest and the nation — from back and neck pain to degeneration and deformity of the spine to herniated disc to spinal fusion and spinal stenosis. Rush is a leader in scoliosis treatment for patients of all ages and is one of the nation's main referral centers for adults with scoliosis. Science and clinical research blend with a sincere commitment to provide patients with the absolute finest, most compassionate care available.

Treatment, whether it's surgical or nonsurgical, is tailored to each patient. A prime example of this is our spine program specifically designed for women. Rush offers some of the most advanced treatment options in the region — from the use of genetic engineering to eliminate the need for bone grafting to new proteins that make spinal fusion surgery less painful and debilitating. Many treatment advances were pioneered at Rush, including minimally invasive techniques that allow physicians to perform major back procedures with incisions smaller than a paperclip, including lumbar discectomies and spinal fusions. That means less pain, less scarring, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker recovery.

When surgery is the best option, surgeons use innovative tools and techniques such as heat probes, spinal cord implants, artificial discs and a wide array of minimally invasive approaches.

Highly Ranked

Rush is consistently ranked among the nation's top hospitals by US News and World Report and, for five years in a row, earned the place as one of the top 10 academic medical centers in the nation, according to the University HealthSystem Consortium.

Following are some of the spine, neck and back conditions that are diagnosed and treated at the Spine and Back Center.

• Back, neck, arm and leg pain
• Cervical myelopathy
• Chiari malformation
• Degenerative spine conditions such as degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis
• Myofascial pain, osteoporosis, pirifomis syndrome, sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction and facet joint syndrome
• Radiculopathy/sciatica
• Spinal cord trauma or injuries and spinal fractures
• Spinal deformities, including adult and pediatric scoliosis and kyphosis
• Spine infections

Both surgical and nonsurgical approaches are considered when treating spine, neck and back pain. Following is a sampling of such procedures.

• Low back surgery, including decompression, anterior and posterior lumbar fusions with autograft, allograft or bone morphogenic protein (BMP), and artificial disc replacement
• Cervical spine (neck) surgery, including cervical decompression and fusion
• Spine injections, including epidural steroid injection, facet radiofrequency ablation (rhizotomy), greater occipital nerve bloc, medial branch block, pars injection, peripheral joint injection (hip, shoulder knee and bursa), sacroiliac joint injection, trigger point injection and intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET)
• Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty
• Minimally invasive surgical procedures
• Microscopic, thorascopic and percutaneous spine surgery
• Scoliosis surgery and spinal deformity correction and reconstruction
• X-stop procedure (an implant used for treating stenosis)

Rush is home to internationally respected orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, physiatrists and nurses who find great reward in knowing their research, discoveries and leading-edge therapies benefit patients today, not decades from now. Specialists at Rush manage pain, treat degeneration, correct deformities and repair injuries.

As both physicians and researchers, doctors at Rush can quickly bring the latest therapies to their patients. Rush is the only center in Chicago participating in the largest orthopedic research study ever supported by the National Institutes of Health to find the most effective treatment for back pain.

The Spine and Back Center clinical staff consists of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists and other non-surgical physicians as well as physician assistants and registered nurses, including the following individuals. 

Neurosurgeons

• Harel Deutsch, MD
• John O'Toole, MD
• Vincent Traynelis, MD 

Orthopedic Surgeons

• Howard S. An, MD
• Christopher J. DeWald, MD
• Edward J. Goldberg, MD 
• Hammerberg, Kim W., MD
• Frank M. Phillips, MD
• Kern Singh, MD

Non-Surgical Physicians

• Gunnar B.J. Andersson, MD, PhD
• Sheila A. Dugan, MD
• Fardon, David, MD
• April M. Fetzer, DO
• Yejia Zhang, MD, PhD

Nurses and Physician Assistants

• Emilie Allen, PA
• Paru Bodiwala, RN
• Candace Frazier, RN, BSN
• Jacqueline Catalano, RN
• Robyn Mudro Flanders, RN, MS, APN
• Mary Faut Rodts, MS, MSA, CNP, ONC
• Glenda Sinkora, RN
• Marian Thompson, RN
• Andea Whedon, RN, MSN, APN
• Margaret Yesko, RN, MS, APN

The clinicians of The Spine and Back Center involve themselves heavily in research, teaching and other activities for the purpose of expanding their knowledge base and the field of medicine.

Clinical Trials

At any given time there are a multitude of clinical trials in the areas of spine and back. To learn about opportunities that may apply to you, please visit our Clinical Trials listing for detailed information.