Erik J Ekstrom, MD

Interventional Spine Expertise

I’m a spine interventionalist, also known as a nonsurgical spine provider. I’m trained in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and I specialize in back, neck, and spine care. I always approach care as a rehabilitation problem, because the majority of spine conditions really just need a fine-tuned rehab approach. I talk with the patient and put the patient’s story together with the images and a physical examination to figure out the best way to move forward and solve the patient’s spine problem.

Sometimes, I perform interventions to treat a problem or to help diagnose a problem. I use real-time imaging to give an injection or do an ablation procedure to deactivate a nerve that is causing pain.

One of my specialties is basivertebral nerve ablation (also called BVN ablation) for vertebrogenic pain, a specific type of chronic low back pain. I brought the technology to Minnesota, and I’m among the most experienced providers in the country at performing this minimally invasive spine procedure. I sit on the faculty of Boston Scientific, which makes the Intercept device and travel to teach providers across the country how to perform it.

How Dr. Erik Ekstrom Approaches Patient Care

I paid for college by working as a waiter, and I learned a lesson there that helps me every day in my medical practice. Everyone has their own way of explaining what they want, and it’s your job to understand what they want and how you can help them.

I paid for college by working as a waiter, and I learned a lesson there that helps me every day in my medical practice. Everyone has their own way of explaining what they want, and it’s your job to understand what they want and how you can help them.

Dr. Erik Ekstrom’s Outside Interests

When I’m not at work, I’m an avid cyclist, and I also cross-country ski. As most of my patients and staff know, usually I try to bike to work. My wife is an emergency medicine doctor, and we have three children together, so that keeps me busy. I also enjoy going to see my extended family in Sweden, to whom I am very close, a couple of times a year.