Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center Back and Spine Evaluation and Diagnostic Services

Your back is a complicated system of nerves, joints and muscles. It’s important to get an accurate diagnosis to receive the right treatment for your condition. At Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center of Santa Cruz, we offer advanced diagnostic tools to help.

Featured Services

Diagnostic Imaging

Diagnosing a Back Problem

The first step to treat a back or spinal condition is getting an accurate diagnosis. Problems in the back and spine can range from temporary sciatica to structural problems with your discs and nerves, so it’s important to pinpoint the cause. Sutter Health network doctors use the most up-to-date diagnostic equipment to determine the source, cause and extent of your injury.

To diagnosis your condition, a back and spine expert may also perform:

A thorough physical exam, including mobility tests and the history of your pain.
Diagnostic imaging, including upper and lower spine MRIs and CT scans.
Biopsy of bone or spinal tissue.
Electrodiagnostic testing to assess the speed and degree of electrical activity in your muscles and nerves.

Health and Wellness

Relieve Back Pain

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Decoding Back Pain

Use this guide to determine what may be causing your back pain.

Middle-aged woman laying down on yoga mat stretching back

Treating Back Pain at Home

These stretches, exercises and tips can help you relieve back pain.

Middle-aged African-American couple jogging

Back Pain Prevention

Keep your back healthy and pain-free with this easy-to-follow advice.

Musculoskeletal Disorders Research

Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries or pain in the body's joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons and other structures that support the arms, legs, neck and back. Specific disorders include such things as carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis and tendinitis. It can also include cuts and fractures due to accidents. Research in this area seeks to improve the treatment of disorders and the prevention of accidents, especially in the work environment.

Sutter Health Musculoskeletal Disorders Research Sutter Health Musculoskeletal Disorders Research