Manipulation Under Anesthia

Manipulation Under Anesthesia:
A Revolution in Pain Management

At La Ruffa Chiropractic & Sports Rehab, Dr. August La Ruffa is certified to perform chiropractic manipulation under anesthesia, known as MUA. With the patient under twilight sedation, MUA is a non-invasive way to perform treatment on patients whose pain inhibits the doctor from treating them with more traditional methods. The use of anesthesia allows Dr. La Ruffa to perform simple chiropractic adjustments and movements quickly and pain-free, helping to greatly improve or even restore normal ranges of motion.

Generally, MUA is indicated for patients who are not responding to traditional conservative chiropractic care, physical therapy, failed epidural therapy or other invasive treatments such as surgery.

At La Ruffa Chiropractic & Sports Rehab, those patients with certain neck, mid-back, low-back or other spinal conditions that have received conservative chiropractic care for six to eight weeks with limited or no improvement in their symptoms are candidates. Other candidates for MUA, in accordance with Dr. La Ruffa’s findings, are patients who still experience pain after undergoing invasive treatment like surgery.

Some of the most common conditions treated with Manipulation Under Anesthesia include:

• Nerve Entrapment
• Disk Pathology including Herniated Disks
• Neck, Middle and/or Lower Back Pain
• Chronic Muscle Pain and Inflammation
• Acute and Chronic Muscle Spasms
• Failed Back Surgery
• Chronic Fibrosis
• Frozen Shoulder
• Torticollis
• Temporal Mandibular Joint Pain (TMJ)
• Chronic Re-injury
  

At La Ruffa Chiropractic & Sports Rehab, the MUA is a 15- to 20-minute procedure. MUA is performed with the patient in under “twilight sedation” as Dr. La Ruffa performs a series of specific adjustments and stretches that would otherwise be impossible without the anesthesia.

While under twilight sedation, the usual fear, resistance and pain associated with the manipulation is eliminated. Through the use of twilight sedation, a patient is relaxed but aware and responsive.
Manipulation Under Anesthesia is a team procedure that includes Dr. La Ruffa, an anesthesiologist, and other qualified surgical personnel assisting. There is an approval process and complete medical screening performed to qualify as a candidate. The combination of manipulation and anesthesia is not new, as this treatment has been used by the manual medical arena for over 60 years. Manipulation Under Anesthesia is an established medical procedure with a CPT Code designate 22505. This is noted in the American Medical Association's Current Procedural Terminology Publication.

Post-procedure care begins soon after the MUA is completed. To maximize your results, you’ll follow with consistent post-care therapy using stretching, flexibility and strengthening exercises, plus regular adjustments by Dr. La Ruffa. This consistent post-care routine at La Ruffa Chriopractic & Sports Rehab continues for the next four to six weeks.

It is our prime mission at La Ruffa Chiropractic & Sports Rehab to help you achieve restoration of function, improve your quality of life, improve physical ability, and achieve pain relief through non-surgical treatment. Physicians and satisfied patients are our greatest sources of referral. We’ve seen people turning in greater numbers to wellness centers such as ours for everything from chiropractic care to massage and sports injury recovery. We emphasize improving your total health in an effort to reduce the risk of pain or illness. Our team, headed by Dr. August La Ruffa, will personally custom-tailor a wellness program for your physical needs using the least invasive and most effective techniques and treatments used in the practice of functional medicine.