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 BlogNew Treatment for Neck Pain: Platelet Lysate and Heidi’s Journey
At our annual Regenexx network provider conference in Denver this past week, a network physician who is more focused on interventional spine came up and thanked me for introducing him to a new treatment for neck pain – platelet lysate. This one change had revolutionized his practice as he found it much more effective than…read more
Laser Back Surgery vs. Traditional Spine Surgery
Is LASER surgery a back surgery alternative? The picture above of Dr. Evil is arguably the world’s most famous air quote. He does this as he describes the laser he has placed on the moon to disintegrate the earth. I feel a little like making this air quote as I speak to some patients about “LASER” Spine…read more Back Fusion Outcome: Fusion Leads to Dead Multifidus
Decisions in Medicine like most things are based on risk vs. benefit. There are life saving procedures and surgeries where the answer is clear, but in non emergency situations, are we doing greater good than harm? A new study looks at the potential damage done to the multifidus in the common surgery, back fusion. So what is…read more Neck Nerve Ablation: Why Ablate When You Can Regenerate?
A revolution in medicine quietly occurred in the 90’s that didn’t make the press or get screamed from the mountaintops, but it was a game changer none the less. Smart people figured out that neck joints were being injured in what was amorphously known as “whiplash”. The revolution came when someone figured out that neck…read more Spinal Stenosis Injections: Never Trust a Back MRI!
Patients considering spinal stenosis injections often come into the office with back pain with thier MRI CDs, believing that this shiny data disc holds the key to their salvation. This makes sense, as many are desperate at that point, their low back having betrayed them by leaving them unable to do what they need to…read more Toe Cramps and Back Pain? My Mother’s Story
How do toe cramps connect to back pain? Most patients with toe cramps believe that they have some sort of nutritional problem, despite many of them actually having a low back issue. In these cases, small amounts of nerve irritation in the low back can cause the muscles in the toe to cramp. This is where…read more Epidural Steroid Complications: Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding 3X More Likely
What’s new in epidural steroid complications? I’ve often discussed that epidural steroids have a very powerful hit of anti-inflammatory steroids. How powerful? I like to explain to patients that if the height of a matchbook represents the amount of steroid your body naturally produces, the height of the Empire State Building represents the amount in…read more Squat Injuries-You Mean Lifting Large Amounts of Weight with your Spine is a Bad Idea?
Squat injuries? We frequently see low back pain patients who injure themselves performing a squat lift, where the weight lifting bar is held by the shoulders and neck and a squat-type movement is performed. Squats and dead lifts (where the athlete bends forward and lifts a barbell to a standing position), are the most common weight lifting…read more 
