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 BlogHer Neck Goes Out All the Time: Definitive Treatment?
Every physician has patients who challenge his or her skills, and it’s the reaction to those patients that determines what kind of doctor that physician is —Chris was one of those patients. She would tell me consistently that “my neck goes out all the time,” but every tool I had to use couldn’t seem to really put…read more
Dural Leak Treatment: Harry’s Story…
Most patients are unaware that there’s fluid around their brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots that literally floats their whole neurologic system. They also don’t realize that the system designed to hold it all can spring a leak and that when it does, all heck can break loose. While we’ve treated many patients with dural…read more How to Read a Low Back MRI Report : What Type of Disc Problem Do You Have?
I find that one of the most confusing things for patients learning how to read a low back MRI report is understanding that there are different types of disc problems that each require a different therapeutic approach. So without understanding their type of disc issue, there is no way to understand which of the newer…read more Stem Cells for Disc Regeneration?
Across the Internet right now, you can find countless websites advertising stem cells for disc regeneration. Is this for real or is it a scam? A recent patient post on our RIP fusion blog can help explain what’s real and what’s likely not. What Is a Degenerated Disc? The reason for trying to regenerate a…read more Sitting and Sciatica Pain: How I Solved It With a Walk
On this page: What is sciatica? How are sitting and sciatica pain related? How does walking help sciatica pain? I’ve been at a medical conference lecturing all week, basically a sit fest. Despite trying to exercise every day and get up and move as much as feasible, my intermittent sciatica was singing last night at…read more New England Journal of Medicine: R.I.P. Back and Neck Fusion Surgery
There has been an explosion in low back and neck fusion surgeries in the past two decades. However, I often tell my patients that “fusion is a dog with big fleas.” After they have a spinal fusion and are seen in the office and have more pain somewhere else, I tell them that they’re now…read more What Is a Flexion-Extension X-Ray?
On this page: What is spinal instability? Can instability be seen on an x-ray or MRI? What is a flexion-extension x-ray? The problem with flexion-extension x-rays How to make sure your test is worthwhile Back and neck pain patients and doctors are often confused by the idea of instability in the spine. From the patient’s…read more
The Multifidus Muscle and Spine Pain – Cause and Effect
The multifidus muscle is the most important stabilizer of your spine, but one that most patients and physicians have never studied. There are now hundreds of research studies confirming that when this little muscle goes south, all heck breaks loose in the neck and back. The multifidis is easy to spot on the average MRI…read more 
