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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, […]
Lumbar Fusion Adjacent Level Disease
In the July 2004 Edition of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Dr. Ghiselli et al performed a retrospective review on patients that had undergone lumbar fusions by primarily by the Late Dr. Edgar Dawson, distinguished professor and spine surgeon affliated with UCLA. The goal was to establish the rate of developing symptomatic adjacent […]
Breast Reduction Surgery for Back Pain
Big Breasts can cause back pain! This is obviously a sensitive topic, but a common one discussed in many spine surgeon’s offices. Just so it is clear, spine surgeons do NOT perform Breast Reduction Surgery. We, however, are asked if the large sized breasts are the source of neck and or upper back pain. Breast […]
Percutaneous Discectomy
What is Percutaneous Discectomy? Just the words themselves seem intimidating. But, in the most basic form, it means a large bore needle is placed into the disk, and either a suction device, or a disc vaporization device is used to remove disk material from the end of the needle. usually, a very small incision, or […]
The Advantages of Cervical Foraminotomy
I am assuming you have already had the discussion about the need for a neck surgery for a pinched nerve in the neck. Let us assume you have already failed the standard non-surgical treatments including time, medications, therapy and injections. Let us further assume certain diagnostic tests have isolated the pinched nerves to a specific […]
Treatment for back pain: NSAIDS, Exercise, Injections, and Vitamin D?
How many times have you seen a physician for low back pain and it was recommended that you take Vitamin D to treat it? The answer for most will be never. Depending on the nature of your back pain, a combination of physical therapy exercises, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and perhaps a corticosteroid injection is more […]
