Low Back Pain After Lumbar Discectomy
Unfortunately, up to 25% of patients who had lumbar discectomy surgery may have recurrent back pain after surgery. A recent study out of Vanderbilt University performed a meta analysis of available studies on discectomy patients, as well as prospectively following patients that had surgery at Vanderbilt. The results of both the meta analysis and the […]
Do Cold Temperatures increase Back Pain?
Cold Temperatures are associated with more back pain. While most of us believe that, there is some scientific data that suggests the statement is true. The Northeast has experienced a record cold winter, and I am sure many are tired of the effects of Old Man Winter. Unfortunately, the cold is associated with increased […]
Minor Trauma Does not Cause Serious Low Back Problems
People come to the Doctor’s office because they have concerns that they caused a major low back problem with a minor traumatic event. Luckily, the research shows that Minor Trauma does not lead to a permanent change to the spine. The study was performed at Stanford University by Carragee et al. There were 200 […]
Spine Surgery Effective for Senior Population
There is a healthy fear of spine surgery, especially in the senior citizen population. At the same time, so many are in such pain, there is a willingness to have spine surgery. Luckily, there is evidence that Spine Surgery is safe for the over 80 year old population. In the February 4, 2015 edition of […]
Spine Surgery Information on the Internet
How do you know the Spine Surgery information on the internet is true? Unfortunately, it can be difficult to know. The internet is a wonderful result of much scientific effort. Prior to its existence, information was controlled by governments, publishing entities and media conglomerates. By virtue of the costs, very few could disseminate information […]
Different Spine Surgery Recommendations
In the October 2014 Spine Journal, there was a fascinating Study presented by Dr. Mroz of the Cleveland Clinic regarding “Differences in the surgical treatment of recurrent lumbar disk herniation among spine surgeon in the United States”. The study identified significant differences among US spine surgeons, regarding the use of Lumbar spinal fusion in combination […]
The Framingham Spinal Stenosis Study
Most people know about the Famous Framingham Heart Study. The study followed a group of volunteers from Framingham Massachusetts for an extended period of time. The first group of 5209 volunteers were 30-60 year old men and women enrolled in the study from 1948. All sorts of measures were documented. In 1971, 5124 children of […]
Patients can determine Spine Surgery Results
YOU can make a difference in your SPINE SURGERY results! While patients often will look towards the skill of the surgeon, there are other important factors that will determine the outcome. Following post operative instructions can have a significant effect on the outcome. YOU can improve your SPINE SURGERY OUTCOMES by listening to your SURGEON. […]
Prolotherapy and Spine Pain
As a Spine Specialist, there are times when our traditional treatments just have not been beneficial. In my opinion, as a surgeon, the patients with the very large disk herniations, and with the corresponding physical complaints and findings are the easiest to treat. Epidural steriod injections are often beneficial. For these patients, surgical management is […]
Depression and Spine Surgery
Unfortunately, there is a bit of the “chicken or the egg” analogy in terms of the association of depression and chronic pain. By definition (NIH) chronic pain is a continuous constant pain that is more than three months in duration. Pain, in the acute setting, is a very important response. While not pleasant (understatement, […]
