Patent ID: 8419731

Claim:
A method of treating back pain, comprising: identifying a vertebral body for treatment, said vertebral body comprising an outer cortical bone region and an inner cancellous bone region, and a basivertebral nerve extending within the inner cancellous bone region; identifying a treatment zone within a posterior section of the vertebral body; inserting a curved stylet having a sharpened distal tip within a lumen of a curved cannula and advancing the curved stylet beyond an open distal end of the curved cannula; inserting the curved cannula through the outer cortical bone region of the vertebral body and into the inner cancellous bone region of the vertebral body, thereby forming a curved path within the inner cancellous bone region toward the treatment zone; removing the curved stylet from the curved cannula; inserting a channeling stylet within the lumen of the curved cannula and advancing the channeling stylet beyond the open distal end of the curved cannula, wherein the channeling stylet is flexibly deformable to navigate the curved cannula yet rigid enough to retain a straight form upon exiting the open distal end of the curved cannula; creating a linear path beyond the curved path toward the treatment zone by advancing a distal end of the channeling stylet beyond the curved path; removing the channeling stylet; inserting a neuromodulation device within the curved cannula, wherein a distal portion of the curved cannula is shaped so as to guide a distal end of said neuromodulation device towards a midline of the vertebral body; advancing the distal end of said neuromodulation device out of a distal opening of said cannula and into the inner cancellous bone region of the vertebral body; positioning the distal end of said neuromodulation device within the treatment zone of the vertebral body; and effecting modulation of the basivertebral nerve using the neuromodulation device.