Spine Conditions
Spine conditions encompass a wide range of disorders affecting the spinal column, including degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, and scoliosis. These conditions can result in pain, numbness, and functional limitations, requiring medical evaluation and treatment to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life.
Subscribe to the BlogHow to Avoid Surgery and Steroids for a Slipped Disc
If you see an orthopedic physician or orthopedic surgeon for back pain that turns out to be a slipped disc, the overwhelming chances are that you will be treated with steroids, and when that fails, surgery. But in the risk versus benefit equation that should govern all medical treatment, is that the best plan? Let’s…read more
What You Need to Know Before Signing Up for Spinal Decompression
Much of modern back surgery is about solving one problem and then creating two others. Spinal decompression is no different. So let’s dive into this topic. Spinal Decompression Addresses One Problem but Creates Another Spinal decompression (aka laminectomy) damages local stabilizing muscles, so it is yet another procedure that in most cases I would label…read more Your Back Problem May Be Destroying Back Muscles
An issue in your spine could be destroying your back muscles. Keeping the back muscles active, even in the presence of aging and a spinal disorder, may keep the back stronger and, therefore, decrease the risk of muscle loss. What Is Degenerative Spondylolisthesis? I and Many Patients Are in a Race Against Time
Dr. Centeno talks about his spondylolisthesis and how that turns into a race against time. Spinal Stenosis Surgery Alternatives: Stem Cells or PRP?
What are spinal stenosis surgery alternatives? Dr. Centeno discusses how the use of precise injections of platelet-rich plasma or stem cells can help patients avoid invasive spinal stenosis surgery. A New Neck Ligament Has Big Implications for CCJ Instability Patients
Dr. Centeno reviews how newly discovered connections between the brain and spinal cord and upper neck muscles and ligaments impact patients with CCJ instability. Why Back Surgery Side Effects Are so Common: BFH Syndrome
I write about what I see in clinic and around me. One of the interesting things from this week was a low back pain patient who had surgery that was so invasive it left a hole in his low back. I coined the term BFH syndrome (Big [Insert Expletive] Hole) to describe this back surgery…read more CCJ Instability: Patients Don’t Know What Their Doctors Don’t Tell Them
If you read this blog, you know that I often write about what I see every day in practice and usually about those things that, as my mother used to say, “get me going.” This week I evaluated a young woman with CCJ instability who didn’t know before getting her neck fused and nerves surgically…read more 