Concussions Affect the Spine
The concussions in sports conversation will surely be brought up again as football season starts. Most of the discussion is about the affects on the brain. As a spine surgeon, I made a video to further the discussion as the spine and neck are also affected by the forces that cause concussions. CitationsElkin BS, Elliott […]
Cervical Fusions in the NFL
Football is fun to watch, and play. But, as a NFL player, you are one down away from injury. Unfortunately, some injuries can be career ending. I had previously blogged about the rates of disk herniations in the NFL. But, there is not much information about the results of certain surgically treated injuries until recently. […]
Disk Herniations in the NFL
Football season is starting NOW! Whenever I watch the game, even as an orthopaedic spine surgeon, I am amazed there are not more injuries. Considering the size and speed of those players, you would think there would be an injury with every play. Sometimes I am asked to consider the bio mechanics of […]
Cervical Instability
What is Cervical Instability? In this x-ray series, it demonstrates movement of the vertebral body of C6 on C7. On Flexion, the posterior corners of the vertebral bodies line up. But, with extension, there is a 4.3 mm movement of the C6 body posterior (towards the back) to the C7 body. The accepted criterion for […]
Low Back Pain, and Diagnostic findings in 40 year olds
Every day, I have consultation with patients that have had lumbar MRI’s, but with mild complaints. Some primary care physicians use CT scans to identify causes of low back pain. Fortunately, while there are some findings on the studies, it is rare to find a truly emergent finding. Also, it was rare to find a truly “normal MRI” as most of my […]
Diabetes and Back Pain
Yesterday, I was asked if there is a relationship between diabetes and back pain? The short answer, in my opinion is yes. But just so we can all have a general understanding, we must first review diabetes and its effects. As many of you know, there are two forms of diabetes. Type I diabetes usually […]
