Engineered for Survival: How 60 Years of Vehicle Safety Advances Changed Spine Injuries After Rear-End Crashes
Today, I want to talk about something that comes up often in my practice: how dramatically the nature of spine injuries from rear-end car crashes has changed since I started practicing in the early 1990s, and how much further back the real transformation began. When people picture a “whiplash injury,” they often imagine the same […]
A Normal Lumbar MRI Is a Rare Finding for Anyone Older Than 40
By John H. Shim, MD, FAAOS | Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon | ShimSpine.com If you are over the age of 40 and your lumbar MRI comes back showing degenerative changes, disc bulges, or mild arthritis — welcome to the club. You are, statistically speaking, perfectly normal. In fact, a completely “clean” lumbar MRI in a middle-aged […]
Back pain, neck pain, and disc problems start not from a dramatic injury, but from hours in a chair.
The Spine Was Not Built for the Chair The human spine evolved for movement; for walking, bending, lifting, and carrying. When you sit for extended periods, especially with poor posture, the compressive load on your lumbar discs increases significantly. Research by Nachemson and others has shown that intradiscal pressure is actually higher during sitting than […]
It Runs in the Family: What Genetics Tells Us About Back Pain and Disc Herniations
If your parent or grandparent suffered from chronic back pain, you may carry more than a sympathetic understanding of their condition; you may carry a genetic predisposition to it. A growing body of scientific research is clarifying what many clinicians have long suspected: the development of lumbar disc degeneration, disc herniation, and chronic low back […]
Back to Posting!
After several years focused on developing CaseChronology.com software, I am finally back to posting information I hope will be useful to my readers. I’m testing ways to disseminate information on my different social media platforms. Sorry it’s taking this long to re-engage with everybody. Last modified: June 14, 2026
Summer Sports and Your Spine: What Pickleball, Golf, and Swimming Can Do to Your Back
Warm-weather sports such as pickleball, golf, and swimming can support spine health when played wisely, but each activity also carries specific back-injury risks.
