Looking for a Back Pain Specialist in NYC?

Back pain is a global menace for people of all ages, genders and ethnicities, and it is the most common complaint of people seeking medical care. According to research, back pain management costs in excess of 200 billion dollars per annum, and it is the most common reason for people missing work and claiming worker’s compensation.

Mainstream medical doctors are quick to prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and narcotic pain killers to treat the symptoms of back pain. When that approach fails, risky surgery is often a last resort, with negligible outcomes that sometimes make the condition worse.

At NYDNRehab, we set out with the goal of getting to the underlying cause of your back pain and eradicating it at its source, without drugs or surgery. Our back pain specialists are dedicated to providing fast and effective back pain relief that stands the test of time.

Dr. Lev Kalika

Clinical director & DC RMSK

Dr. Lev Kalika Best Rated Back Pain Doctor
in NYC

Back pain patients often suffer for months or even years on end, going from one doctor to the next without finding long-term relief. Some even become addicted to the narcotic pain medications that are often prescribed for back pain.

Dr. Lev Kalika, clinical director of NYDNRehab, takes an alternative and holistic approach to treating back pain. He understands that the root cause of back pain often arises from factors beyond the locus of pain. Dr. Kalika has devoted his life’s work to revolutionizing the way pain syndromes and movement disorders are diagnosed and treated.

Dr. Kalika is an expert in diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasonography, and the clinic at NYDNRehab features the highest resolution ultrasound equipment available. In addition, he is trained and certified in a broad range of treatment approaches. He has published multiple research articles on diagnostic ultrasound, ultrasound guided dry needling procedures, and other topics in rehabilitative medicine.

Dr. Kalika’s expertise is sought by elite athletes, competitive runners and professional ballet dancers in New York and across the USA. He is a top-rated back pain specialist in NYC.

Types of Back Pain

One reason back pain is so pervasive is that its cause is often difficult to determine. In many cases, back pain originates elsewhere in the body, and treating the locus of pain without ferreting out its origins results in unresolved pain that is only masked by drugs.

Back pain generally falls under one of two categories:

Mechanical back pain occurs when there is a specific identifiable cause in or around the spinal column itself, such as:

Degeneration of the facet joints that connect the spinal vertebrae to one another.
Strain of the large muscles that support the spine.
Entrapment or compression of a spinal nerve root.
Inflammation of the intervertebral discs that separate the vertebrae and absorb shock.
Spinal fracture from trauma or osteoporosis

Non-specific back pain is the most common type of back pain, which is why back pain can be so frustrating. It can have several underlying causes that are not directly related to the spinal structures themselves, including:

Faulty gait mechanics that irritate the spinal nerves
Poor posture
Spinal overload from excess body weight
Weakened muscles that are unable to support the spine
Myofascial trigger points

Back pain can arise anywhere along the spine and its associated structures and soft tissues, although the neck and low back are the most common locations of back pain.

Common Causes of Back Pain

While there are many congenital conditions and pathologies that can cause back pain, most are uncommon and rarely apply to the majority of back pain sufferers.

The most common causes of back pain in the general population are:

Being overweight and out of shape
Poor posture while sitting and standing
Faulty gait mechanics when walking or running
Poor lifting technique
Repetitive overuse from sports or exercise
Occupational overuse of back muscles
Degenerative conditions of the spinal structures
Herniated discs

Sciatica
Muscle strains
Myofascial pain syndrome
Myofascial trigger points
Ligament sprains
Pregnancy
Acute trauma

Get Accurate Back Pain Diagnosis for Optimal Results

Accurate diagnosis is essential to finding the best treatment options for your back pain. Beware of back pain doctors who attempt to treat your symptoms with drugs or surgery, without attempting to uncover the underlying cause.

At NYDNRehab, we use high resolution diagnostic ultrasound to visualize the spine and its surrounding tissues and structures in real time, with the patient in motion. Unlike static images from Xray and MRI, ultrasound imaging lets us travel the length of bones, nerves, muscles and connective tissues, to look for anomalies that could contribute to your back pain.

In addition, our clinic features state-of-the-art 3D gait analysis technology that lets us pinpoint and quantify gait deficits that contribute to back pain. Our in-depth analysis ensures that we get to the bottom of your back pain and treat it as quickly as possible, so you can get back to living your life without pain or dysfunction.

Get Accurate Back Pain Diagnosis for Optimal Results

Low-Risk Minimally-Invasive Treatment Options

Once we discover the source of your back pain, we design a personalized one-on-one treatment plan based on your unique diagnosis.

Your back pain treatment protocol may include:

Physical therapy
Posture training exercises
Chiropractic care
Therapeutic massage
Dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS)
Ultrasound guided dry needling
Gait retraining
Regenerative therapies to speed healing

Back pain can arise anywhere along the spine and its associated structures and soft tissues, although the neck and low back are the most common locations of back pain.

Our Cutting-Edge Regenerative Technologies
are Game-Changers for Back Pain

The human body has its own innate healing mechanisms, but it sometimes needs a nudge to accelerate the healing process. Regenerative technologies help to jump-start healing by stimulating tissue repair at the cellular level. Our outpatient regenerative therapies expedite recovery, with minimal discomfort for the patient.

Focused Shockwave Therapy

Focused Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT)

Focused ESWT is used as a regenerative treatment for damaged tendon, muscle and bone tissue. This technology produces high frequency sound waves to stimulate the body’s own reparative mechanisms. It is especially effective for chronic degenerative tendon disorders and myofascial pain syndrome.

Extracorporeal Magnetic Transduction Therapy (EMTT)

EMTT is a fairly new technology that transmits high energy magnetic pulses to targeted tissues. The magnetic waves synchronize with the body’s own magnetic fields, causing a disturbance that triggers a regenerative response. EMTT waves can penetrate deep tissues up to 18 cm beneath the skin’s surface, to target difficult-to-reach tendons, muscles, bones and nerves.

Electromagnetic Transduction Therapy (EMTT)

Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology (EPAT)

EPAT, also known as defocused shock wave therapy, uses acoustic pressure waves to enhance blood circulation to targeted tissues. This speeds up the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissues and stimulates cellular metabolism, to accelerate the healing process.

High Energy Inductive Therapy (HEIT)

HEIT uses electromagnetic fields to penetrate cells, tissues, organs and bones, to reactivate the electrochemical function of cells and cell membranes. HEIT generates a magnetic field 600 times stronger than the field of a normal magnet, to stimulate healing of nerves, muscles and blood vessels.

HIGH ENERGY INDUCTIVE THERAPY (HEIT)

Ultrasound Guided Injection
Therapies

Injection therapies use natural/neutral solutions that stimulate cellular repair by either nourishing or irritating the targeted cells. Guidance by ultrasound ensures that the injected substances hit their mark, for maximum effectiveness.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)

PRP therapy uses a sample of the patient’s own whole blood, spun in a centrifuge to extract a high concentration of platelets. When injected into damaged tissues, PRP initiates tissue repair by releasing biologically active factors such as growth factors, cytokines, lysosomes and adhesion proteins. The injected solution stimulates the synthesis of new connective tissues and blood vessels. PRP can help to jump-start healing in chronic injuries and accelerate repair in acute injuries.

Proliferation Therapy, aka Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy uses a biologically neutral solution, often containing dextrose, saline or lidocaine. The solution irritates the affected connective tissue, stimulating the body’s own natural healing mechanisms to encourage growth of new normal ligament or tendon fibers.

Ultrasound Guided Dry Needling

Myofascial trigger points often contribute to back pain. Dry needling is an outpatient procedure that inserts non-medicated needles into the trigger point to evoke a twitch response, releasing the trigger point and immediately relieving pain. Ultrasound guidance eliminates the need for multiple insertions, reducing pain and discomfort for the patient.

Professional associations and memberships

Dr. Kalika is currently a certified member of:

American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine

Active member of ISMST

International Society of Extra Corporeal Shockwave Therapy

Active member of GCMAS

Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society

Active member of NASS

North American Spine Society

Active member of IADMS

International Association of Dance Medicine and Science

Active member of Virtual Rehabilitation Society

Active member of ASRA

American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

American Academy

Association of Orthopedic Medicine

Active member of Interventional Orthobiologics Foundation

Contact NYDNRehab for the Best Back
Doctors in NYC

Back pain can be debilitating, keeping you from living a productive happy life. At NYDNRehab, we know that back pain treatment takes time, and we believe that time should not be wasted on misdiagnosis, ineffective therapies, and surgeries requiring months of down time.

If you want fast and effective back pain treatment from an experienced back pain specialist in NYC, contact NYDNRehab today. Our personalized care and one-on-one treatment approach ensure that your back pain is resolved in the shortest time possible, so you can get back to doing the things you love.