The Center for Spine Health's multidisciplinary team brings together the expertise of nationally recognized Cleveland Clinic specialists in orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery and medical spine, offering patients with back and neck pain the latest, most innovative and effective medical and surgical treatments. Cleveland Clinic's Center for Spine Health at Lutheran Hospital integrates research, clinical practice and education with the goals of improving patient care, developing unique technologies and sub-specializations and promoting the cross-fertilization of ideas among staff.

From periodic monitoring to intensive surgical correction, we provide state-of-the-art management for back problems. The Center for Spine Health team includes a comprehensive range of specialists, including:

  • Medical spine specialists.
  • Neurological surgeons.
  • Orthopaedic surgeons.
  • Physicians assistants.
  • Nurses.
  • Rehabilitation specialists.
  • Pain management specialists.

Commonly treated disorders include herniated discs and other disc diseases, arthritic spurs, scoliosis and back pain problems.

Spine health

Back problems affect 80% of the American adult population at one time or another. Our experts are here to diagnose back and neck problems and provide comprehensive care for the most common to the most complex disorders. Whatever your diagnosis, our specialists are dedicated to restoring your function and relieving pain to the greatest degree possible.

Medical spine specialist

The medical spine specialist is trained in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of back and neck disorders. They often work in other medical areas as well, such as rheumatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, internal medicine and family medicine.

Every attempt is made to first treat the patient conservatively without surgery. This can include rehabilitation therapy, injection therapy and medication management. When surgery is recommended, patients are treated by fellowship trained spine surgeons who are highly skilled in state-of-the-art surgical techniques, from major spinal reconstruction to newer minimally invasive techniques.

When to See a Medical Spine Specialist

Many back injuries are self-limited and get better on their own within a short time or can be evaluated and treated successfully by an individual’s primary care doctor. However, for severe or persistent pain, particularly when it radiates to the legs or arms—with or without more serious symptoms, such as numbness or weakness—evaluation by a medical spine specialist is recommended.

Spine surgery

For some patients, surgery may be the only possible solution to alleviate back pain. Although spinal surgery is often delicate and complex, our board-certified surgeons have an extremely high success rate for even the most complicated procedures. They can also offer the latest minimally invasive techniques, when appropriate, which result in less postoperative pain and faster recovery.

In the hands of a skilled, experienced surgeon, the benefits of surgical treatment usually far outweigh the risks. The most common surgical conditions are degenerative spine conditions such as disc herniation and spinal stenosis, followed by spinal deformity such as scoliosis and kyphosis, fracture/trauma and spine tumor. Whatever your diagnosis, our specialists apply their knowledge and skill, combined with the latest state-of-the-art techniques and advanced technologies, to relieve your pain and restore your function to the highest degree possible.

Spine Health Research Lab

Lutheran Hospital is home to Cleveland Clinic's Center for Spine Health Research Lab. The lab is focused on uncovering the causes of spinal disorders and deformities, and in evaluating and advancing the scientific basis of novel therapies of spinal disorders towards marketable clinical applications.

The Spine Research Lab has a multidisciplinary team of investigators that blend the disciplines of medicine, engineering, biomechanics and physiology to investigate and develop new technologies for spine problems. The lab includes a library, tissue engineering and cell culture facility, biomechanics laboratory, computational simulation lab, offices and conference space. The lab also features a robotics-based mechanical testing facility and prototype fabrication laboratory.

Our physicians include board-certified international renowned medical and surgical experts from Cleveland Clinic's Center for Spine Health.

To make an appointment with a Spine Center doctor call, 800.220.8202.