Diagnosis
Diagnosis is the cornerstone of effective medical care, enabling healthcare providers to accurately identify and address patients’ health concerns. Through a combination of clinical evaluation and diagnostic tests, healthcare professionals can formulate tailored treatment plans to meet individual needs.
Subscribe to the BlogCan You Have Serious Neck Injuries and a “Normal” MRI?
MRI has been a game-changing technology in medicine. However, as I have blogged many times, our overreliance on MRI reports as physicians who treat patients in pain isn’t a net positive. So today we’ll go over a concept that’s not new, that serious traumatic neck injuries may not be detected on MRI. Let’s dive in.…read more
What Causes Pain Around the Ribs and Back Symptoms?
In this article: Understanding the thoracic spine Causes of pain in the ribs and back Treatment The thoracic spine and ribs are like a no man’s land for many physicians, including spine experts. While many physicians are comfortable treating and diagnosing neck and low back problems when it comes to things like pain around the…read more
What Is a Proper Diagnostic Block Headache Work-up?
There are so many structures in the neck and head that can cause headaches that it’s almost tough to find them all and put them on a big list. However, after having many patients with chronic headaches come into the office and claim that after a simple Occipital Nerve Block that they have had a…read more
What Is Central Sensitization? Does It Impact Procedures?
Central Sensitization is such a critical concept for some patients with chronic pain that it’s just begging for me to cover it, so here goes. So what is Central Sensitization? Why is it important? If you have it, how should you navigate procedures? Let’s dig in. What is Central Sensitization? When you feel pain, those…read more
Understanding the What and the Why…
The hardest thing for patients is to understand the difference between What and Why. This means the problem and the cause. So let’s dig into this issue. Bad Medicine Is All About the Problem The “what” is the problem that the doctor is presented with. Let me give a few examples of “what”: Tight neck…read more
What Is Cervical Medullary Syndrome?
What happens when the neck bones impinge on the upper spinal cord and brain stem? This is called Cervical Medullary Syndrome. Let’s explore what this is and why it happens. Let’s dig in. The Background Anatomy The normal upper neck anatomy is unique in that nature has built in quite a bit of space around…read more
What Is a Dural Leak?
We’ve seen many patients through the years with chronic dural leaks. What is that? How is a dural leak diagnosed? Can it be treated? Let’s dig in. What Is a Dural Leak? The dura is the covering of the spinal cord and nerve roots. It forms a sac of sorts that contains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF),…read more
Understanding Functional Levels in CCI
Our Colorado HQ has become a worldwide treatment site to help Craniocervical Instability patients avoid invasive fusion surgery. In decades of treating these patients, I’ve noticed that patients with this condition have very different levels. To ensure that everyone’s on the same page in understanding which type of patient is being treated, I’ve developed my…read more
