General Practitioners

• Osteoporosis
• Headaches
• Arthritis
  When one area of the spine is injured, it is more likely that spinal health in other areas will fail. Conditions that may encourage the development of stenosis include scoliosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, spinal tumors and trauma.
• Medical Weight Loss
  The goal when treating bone spurs is to minimize pain and prevent any additional joint damage. Treatment methods may include weight loss, stretching and physical therapy, rest and ice. Injections can reduce inflammation long enough to relieve symptoms. Medications such as ibuprofen or injections may be administered for pain. Bone spurs can be surgically removed in the case of serious damage and deformity.
• Primary Care
  Some health plans have specific rules you must follow in order to be seen by a specialist. If your health insurance company requires authorization from a primary care physician, remember that it is YOUR responsibility to provide us with the necessary authorization information and documents. You must have this authorization information with you during your initial appointment to be seen by the doctor.
• Family Practice
  There are many ways to identify the best specialist within a given area. A good place to start is to consult a family practice doctor who addresses your general healthcare needs. This “primary care” doctor will usually know the best super-specialists within a specific region. Also, since this primary care physician may have referred patients to that specialist before, they may have seen firsthand their clinical outcomes after surgery. If these outcomes are poor, the primary doctor will not refer additional patients.

Ophthalmologists

• Eye Exam

Neurologists

• Neurology
  As of January 2023, Dr. Alleyne’s bibliography included over 254 scholarly contributions (including manuscripts, abstracts, posters, chapters and books) and 228 invited lectures, presentations and visiting professorships. His professional affiliations include the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Neurosurgical Society of America, Society of Neurological Surgeons, and the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. In addition, he has served as President of the Georgia Neurosurgical Society, Chairman of the Neurology/Neurosurgery section of the National Medical Association, and Chairman of the Nominating Advisory Committee of the Society of Neurological Surgery. In 2021 he was elected to a six-year term as a Director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
  Carpal tunnel syndrome is becoming more and more common in today's world, which revolves around all things electronic. Carpal tunnel syndrome is typically caused by constant, repetitive movement of the hands. Swelling of the carpal tunnel tissues, due to injury or trauma, causes the median nerve at the wrist to compress. The median nerve connects and supplies sensation to many other areas of the hand. This swelling can be theresult of constant typing, driving, assembly-line work, writing or the use of hand tools.
• Epilepsy
  University Neuroscience is one of the largest neurosurgical groups in Southeast Georgia. Its neurosurgeons are referred some of the most complex cases of brain tumor, brain injury, aneurysm, spinal cord injury, headache, epilepsy and cerebrovascular problems from across Southeast Georgia and South Carolina. Augusta Back is the regional spine center that includes board-certified neurological surgeons and a support team of complementary neurological specialists. Learn More

Psychiatrists

• Depression
• Mental Health
  • Access the information contained in your medical record. This right may be delegated to another person of your choosing and might include exceptions (such as those pertaining to mental health care or to sensitive materials).

Endocrinologist

• Diabetes Care

Radiologist

• Ultrasound
  The only way to permanently relieve pain involves changing the physiology of the back by using exercise to make it stronger, more flexible and resistant to injury. While ageneral physical therapist may spend weeks attempting to mask pain using heat, ice or ultrasound, research has shown that using these passive treatments is not the best way to return someone to activity efficiently. This general physical therapist often sees a wide variety of patients each day who suffer problems related to sore elbows, knees or shoulders. General physical therapists typically have a very limited understanding of the best ways to treat specific types of back problems. At best, they may have taken a couple courses on therapy for a back or neck injury.
• MRI
  Augusta Back is a multidisciplinary, regional center of excellence for the treatment of back and neck problems. Augusta Back physicians are able to care for any type of back or neck problem, from the simple back or neck strain all the way to the most complex spine surgery. It includes physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians dedicated to the nonsurgical management of spine problems, spine surgeons who can handle complex spine problems and spine-specialized physical therapists and diagnostics — all under one roof. Because Augusta Back has MRI, X-ray and injection suite capabilities nearby, the back or neck pain patient no longer has to drive around town for care. All the necessary diagnostic testing and non-operative treatment under one roof eliminates the need for multiple referrals, delayed care and confusion.
• X-Rays
• Computed Tomography
  Discography - Discography is used to determine the internal structure of your disc. It is performed by using a local anesthetic and injecting a dye into your disc under X-ray guidance. An X-ray and CT scan are performed to view the appearance of the disc composition to determine if its structure is normal or abnormal. In addition to your disc appearance, your doctor will note if you have pain with this injection. The benefit of a discogram is that it enables the spine surgeon to confirm which disc level is really causing your pain. This ensures that surgery will be more successful and reduces the risk of operating on the wrong disc.
• Chemotherapy
  In many cases, surgery is required to remove the tumor. Radiation and chemotherapy are also used. During surgery, the neurosurgeon will aim at removing the entire tumor since residual tumor cells can cause the tumor to recur. After surgery, radiation therapy may be used to eliminate the portion of the tumor that could not be removed surgically. Radiation may be used when surgery is too risky. Steroids may also be prescribed in order to reduce swelling.
• Radiation Therapy

Surgeons

• General Surgery
  Dr. Tuttle was a graduate of Vandalia-Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio in 1987. He received his undergraduate education at Alma College graduating Magna Cum Laude in Exercise and Health Science. He also received a degree Magna Cum Laude in Science Technology. He went on to receive his medical degree at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery and Neurological Surgery at Medical College of Georgia. He completed a fellowship in Orthopaedic Spine Surgery in 2007.
• Sciatica
  There has been conflicting research about the value of injection therapy. Some studies have questioned the benefit of epidural steroid injections. In 1997, Britain's Royal College of General Practitioners noted in its back care guidelines that epidural steroid injections relieve low back pain with sciatica (leg pain) better than some other treatments. The Royal College is less supportive of facet joint injections and trigger point injections. It sees little evidence that these injections improve clinical outcomes. With that said, many spine specialty centers believe in the benefit of injections and continue to use them.
• Scoliosis Surgery
  Through the placement of hooks, rods and screws, a spinal curve can be corrected and stabilized. A fusion often follows scoliosis surgery, in order to maintain the correction permanently.
• Whiplash
  Like back strain, neck strain is an irritation to tendons, muscles and ligaments in the upper back and neck area. Whiplash is characterized by a collection of symptoms that occur following damage to the neck, usually because of sudden extension and flexion, such as in a car accident.
• Minimally Invasive Surgery
  In this sense, health insurance plans are not able to steer consumers to the highest quality physicians. They are, however, in a difficult position because they find themselves somewhat handcuffed and unable to direct consumers to the highest quality physicians. On one hand, every healthcare plan medical director knows that the best physicians and super-specialists will save money as their outcomes improve and as they provide minimally invasive surgery options that are less risky. These directors are trying to determine ways to subtly encourage patients to seek out centers of excellence for complex problems. However, they are also concerned with possible litigation from other physicians that may develop if they overtly favor one center over other physicians.
• Joint Replacement
  A. Just as the trend in medicine is for physicians to subspecialize in knees, or arm, or joint replacement, the exact same thing is happening in the area of physical therapy. That’s good news for patients.
• Orthopedic Surgery
  First, the healthcare consumer needs to understand that today’s medical field is divided into very narrow specialty categories. Twenty years ago, the specialty of orthopedic surgery addressed a variety of problems including knee, foot, hip, shoulder, hand and spine. While an orthopedic surgeon in a small rural town may still address all these problems, most orthopedic surgeons today in larger cities specialize in only one of those areas. Therefore, the educated healthcare consumer with a knee problem should seek out an orthopedic surgeon who only works on knees. This increases the likelihood that the surgeon will be more proficient in surgery and will use the most advanced surgical techniques available for knees.
• Neurosurgery
  Cargill H. Alleyne, Jr., MD is a board-certified neurosurgeon with a special interest in the practice of cerebrovascular neurosurgery, endovascular neurosurgery, skull base tumors, spine surgery, radiosurgery and general neurosurgery.
• Otolaryngology
  His honors include Castle Connolly’s “Top Doctors†and America’s “Best Doctors†, America’s Top Surgeons, America’s Most Honored Doctors, American Board of Neurological Surgeons examiner, Exemplary Teaching Award (Medical College of Georgia, 2016-17 academic year), Consultant of the year (from the MCG Department of Otolaryngology in 2017), Global directory of Who’s Who, and Royal Dragonfly children’s book awards (second place for “Bart’s Heart†in Fall 2015 and Honorable mention in Fall 2012 for “Ned’s Head†) among others.

Dermatologists

• Lesions
  Bone Scan - Bone imaging is used to detect infection, malignancy, fractures and arthritis in any part of the skeleton. Bone scans are also used for finding lesions for biopsy or excision.

Physical Therapists

• Sports Medicine
  What do exercises have to do with relieving pain from a sore neck or back? Lots. Research in sports medicine and spine care show that a key part of the recovery and rehabilitation process involves exercise and movement.
• Physical Therapy
  Injection therapy is intended to be a means to an end. The goal is to provide the patient with enough pain relief to bridge from inactivity to physical therapy, where back problems can be better treated with special exercises. For years, spine physicians have used cortisone injections, epidural steroid injections, trigger point injections and nerve blocks to relieve pain in the spine.
• Shoulder Pain
• Neck Pain
• Back Pain
• Manual Therapy
  Working with a therapist may also be necessary for a recovery from back or neck pain. A therapist is trained to know how hard a patient can push themselves. They are able to relieve pain with specialized therapy techniques, tissue and joint mobilization and special exercises that can relieve pain symptoms.