Chronic pain
Chronic pain persists for extended periods, usually over three to six months, beyond the normal healing time. It can stem from various conditions and affects physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain may persist long after initial injuries have healed, impacting daily life and functioning.
Subscribe to the BlogWhy Can’t I Lift My Arms Overhead?
On this page: Muscles and ligaments involved in neck instability Irritated neck nerves A patient story I love when patients walk in and I can easily show them how their body works. This past week, I was able to do that with a patient who couldn’t lift his arms over his head. In seconds, I…read more
Why You Don’t Need Shoulder Separation Surgery
On this page: What is the AC joint? What happens in an AC joint separation? What does an AC joint separation feel like? Is shoulder separation surgery necessary? New research on surgery for AC joint dislocation When I was in medical school, I crashed a motorcycle and separated my shoulder. I was told back then…read more
Don’t Expect to Toss the Opioids After Spinal Fusion
Most patients I speak to who are contemplating a spinal fusion for low back pain believe that their pain will be solved and that they will be able to stop using narcotics. However, what if that wasn’t remotely true? Would they still sign up for this invasive and potentially dangerous surgical procedure? New research suggests…read more Opioids No Better than Tylenol for Pain?
I’ve never been a fan of narcotic/opioid medications. Fifteen years ago, when sales reps for pharma companies descended on our office to extoll the virtues of prescribing high-dose narcotics to our pain patients, I thought these folks were crazy. Obviously, the whole thing turned into a mess of gargantuan proportions, with opioids killing many patients…read more Gluteal Tendinopathy, the PT Chronic Pain Denier Movement, and Circular Arguments
Likely the silliest movement in physical therapy and rehabilitation today is what I call the PNE chronic pain denier movement. It’s bizarre not because of the overall concepts on which it is based, but more the religious fervor of its disciples and the crazy pseudoscience they’re able to get published that purports to validate their movement. Most…read more The Long-Term Side Effects of Spinal Fusion
On this page: The structure of the spine Fusion can cause adjacent segment disease The long-term side effects of spinal fusion The purpose of a spinal fusion is to stop movement. A one-level fusion removes the disc between two vertebrae and uses screws and other hardware to force the two vertebrae together, which then fuse…read more
Gastrocnemius Recession Review: Should You Get This Invasive Surgery?
In this article: Overview PRP research on Achilles tendinopathy PRP injection for heel pain Research on gastrocnemius recession I have a list of surgeries that I classify as something like “They did what to you?” One of those is called gastrocnemius recession, a procedure that is increasingly being used to treat heel pain. Recently, a…read more This Is SO Wrong: Neck Fusion Gone Bad
I have had about enough of my spine-surgery colleagues who perform a single fusion that doesn’t work and then keep digging the proverbial hole deeper and deeper by performing more fusions. Case in point this morning is a poor middle-aged woman with her whole neck fused! Now she’s miserable and has complications related to the…read more 
