Gather 10 people in a room and chances are good that at least one will complain about back pain. Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. And it’s just one of a number of spinal problems — many of them complex and some of them life-threatening — that cause patients to seek medical help at emergency departments and urgent care facilities and from primary care physicians and specialists.
In a community like Miami, where healthcare is significantly disparate, it’s vital that physicians make care decisions based on evidence-based medicine, said Robert Rothrock, M.D., a spinal neurosurgeon with Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute. As co-director of the 2025 Baptist Health Spine Symposium, attended recently by nearly 300 physicians and other healthcare professionals, he values the opportunity to share the latest advances in spine care.
Robert Rothrock, M.D.“It’s important that physicians be able to identify red flags and better understand the role of surgery in the treatment of common degenerative pathology of the spine,” Dr. Rothrock said. “This helps community providers to refer patients properly, and to trust that multidisciplinary care, based on the latest available literature, is being provided.”
The Symposium featured a wide range of lectures, including:
- Claudication: Spinal vs. Vascular – Melissa Guanche, M.D., Symposium co-director
- Lumbar Discitis: How to Diagnose and Not Miss – Ronald Tolchin, D.O.
- PRP for Interventional Spine Procedures – Justin Thottam, D.O.
- Cervical Vertigo – German Correal, M.D.
- Avoiding Lumbar Adjacent Segment Disease – Robert Rothrock, M.D.
- Intramedullary Spinal Cord Update – Vitaly Siomin, M.D.
- Hallmarks of Successful Vertebral Body Augmentation – Justin Sporrer, M.D.
For some conditions, such as lumbar discitis, rapid referral is necessary, said Dr. Tolchin. “This is an infection you don’t want to miss. The prognosis is favorable if caught early, but there is no time to spare in these cases.” Dr. Tolchin reviewed common symptoms of lumbar discitis and gave an overview of the recommended imaging and other diagnostic tests.
Among the emerging technologies and treatment protocols discussed was injecting platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in degenerative discs, a technique that uses concentrated platelets from the patient’s own blood. Because PRP is believed to have high values of growth factors, said Dr. Thottom, it’s thought that it will help reduce inflammation, promote repair mechanisms and reduce pain. Already used in the orthopedic setting, doctors expect PRP to be widely available for problems in the spine soon.
Eduardo Icaza, M.D., provided information on a new non-opioid oral pain medication, called VX-548 or suzetrigine, that works by reducing the activation of pain-signaling neurons, preventing or lowering the transmission of pain signals to the brain. It targets a specific sodium channel in the peripheral nervous system. Doctors are hopeful that the new medication, which just received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will help patients with idiopathic neuropathy, or nerve pain that has no known cause, as well as those with chronic and acute pain from other back problems.
Doctors at Miami Neuroscience Institute are optimistic that a comprehensive approach that considers the patient’s overall health, lifestyle and treatment goals, coupled with the rapid evolution of spine care, will result in better patient outcomes.
Watch for information on next year’s Baptist Health Spine Symposium coming soon.
