Archives:
Goals of Spine Surgery
As a Spine Surgeon, I want to give my patients a chance at a successful outcome. But, I find some patients to be unrealistic about the goals. So the topic can be broached, I thought I would share my thoughts on the Goals of Spine Surgery. As we will see, there are many considerations to spinal surgery. As always, these […]
C5 Syndrome
For patients who undergo cervical myelopathy/radiculopathy surgery, surgeons always have concern for developing the so called C5 Syndrome. Some patients do wake up with weakness to the deltoid and biceps muscles. Typically, however, patients will not experience the weakness for a few days after the surgery. You can imagine the concern for both the patient and […]
Waddell’s Signs
This is a very difficult topic. It, however is an appropriate discussion, considering we are in a national debate about healthcare and its costs. As a physician, sometimes we are asked to make judgements on the validity of a patients complaints, and compare them to the physical findings. It can be an uncomfortable position for some […]
Hot Tub Therapy for Neck and Back Pain
Among the many modalities that can be used to manage neck and back pain, the use of a hot tub is usually one of the pleasurable indulgences that many have taken advantage of or have at least thought of. Patients will often ask if there is benefit to using a hot tub. Historically, the Greeks, […]
Stem Cells to Treat Back Pain
Stem Cells to Treat Back Pain Beyond the standard, traditional treatments for low back pain, stem cell therapy is an alternative approach that is in its infancy but may become a viable treatment option for many. In simplest form, stem cells are cells that are taken from within the body that can differentiate (develop into […]
Back Pain and Traveling
Back pain is inconvenient at best, life altering at worst. Still, with or without it, we must continue to do what we need to do to participate in the activities of life. A common question asked by patients concern traveling. The specific questions asked are, when I have back pain, can I ride on a […]
