Spinal Health
Spine is the central support structure, providing stability, flexibility, and protection for the delicate spinal cord. Explore our resources to learn more about caring for your spine and optimizing your physical health.
Subscribe to the BlogSurgery for Tethered Cord in Adults?
One of the trends I have seen these past few years is a number of people getting diagnosed with a tethered cord and getting surgery for this issue. So what is this and why would surgery be needed? Are these patients getting needed procedures or exposing themselves to serious risks they don’t need to take?…read more
Making the Diagnosis of Craniocervical Instability
If you read this blog, you know that I often write about what I experience on a day to day basis. This week I had a telemedicine evaluation with a patient who was scheduled for a C1-C2 screw fixation surgery who didn’t meet our diagnostic criteria for a much less invasive injection-based procedure to treat…read more Steroid vs. Platelet Lysate Epidurals: One Woman’s 10-Year+ Result
Epidural steroid injections for sciatica have been a mainstay of treatment for many years. However, while they generally work, they have some serious downsides. Hence, more than a decade ago we changed to using the patient’s own growth factors to treat irritated spinal nerves. A patient I just saw this week is a great demonstration…read more Spinal Fusion Complications
Spinal fusion complications are surprisingly common, yet it’s big business. So how successful are these surgeries? How long does it take to recover? What are the complications and how often do they actually happen? What is a Spinal Fusion and Why Is It Done? Spinal fusion is a surgery where the surgeon uses bone and/or…read more My Own Non-Surgical Spondylolisthesis Recovery
If you read this blog, you know I have a chronic back issue called spondylolisthesis. However, this past year, I have had my crew at our Colorado HQ working on it and there’s nothing like results to again show me how important our treatments can be. Let me explain. What Is Spondylolisthesis? Spondylolisthesis means that…read more Is Fusing the Neck Needed? New Study Raises More Questions
Considering a neck fusion? Tens of thousands of patients a year find themselves making the same decision. Now a new study raises more questions about neck fusion to treat spinal cord compression. Understanding Cervical Spinal Cord Compression Cervical spondylotic myelopathy means that there is a compression of the spinal cord in the neck by bone…read more Should I Have Artificial Disc Replacement?
If you read this blog, you know that I often write about what I experience on a day-to-day basis. Yesterday, I spoke to a patient from New York who had already had an artificial disc implanted in his back that failed and was contemplating another in his neck. Given that my neck on MRI was far…read more Should We Be Cementing Fractured Back Bones?
This is an interesting blog for me to write. On the one hand, I have colleagues that perform vertebroplasty to treat thoracic compression fractures and say that it can be amazing, older people get rolled in and walk out. On the other hand, the idea of bone cement, an artificial substance to glue bones back…read more 
