Pain and Sleep When thinking about the most prevalent and significant health problems, chronic pain is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. But the consequences of pain should not be underestimated: it burdens more people in the U.S. than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. Much of this pain is not simply a short-term or minor…
By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The Laser Spine Institute, which once ran a nationwide chain of surgery centers that specialized in “minimally invasive” spinal procedures, has abruptly ceased operations due to financial problems. The company had four remaining surgery centers in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Scottsdale and Tampa, Florida, where it is headquartered. It recently closed…
Is It My Low Back Or My Hip? When patients present with low back pain, it is not uncommon for pain to arise from areas other than the low back, such as the hip. There are many tissues in the low back and hip region that are susceptible to injury with have overlapping…
Most women who were pregnant in the Mad Men era of the 1960s — or earlier — will tell you that their doctors approved all kinds of practices that would never pass muster today: Smoking to alleviate constipation. Drinking, albeit in moderation. Weight control for the sake of vanity, not health. An extreme example is…
Have you ever wondered “What type of mattress is best for my back?” Between the many types of mattresses available on the market—foam, coiled, water, as well as combinations of all these, not to forget further options between soft, medium, or firm—where do we begin? All of these variables make finding the right one truly…
For patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), treatment guidelines recommend a non-surgical approach as the FIRST-LINE treatment. Ideally, the goal would be to avoid an initial surgery unless it’s absolutely indicated. That means, unless there is loss of bowel or bladder control or retention (which represents a medical emergency) or if there is progressive…
Spondylolisthesis, or a slipped vertebra (as opposed to a slipped disk or herniated disk), is when one vertebra slips or slides forwards on the vertebra below, which can occur for a number of reasons including getting older (“degenerative spondylolisthesis”) or trauma (from a fracture in the back of the vertebra called the “pars interarticularis”). Additionally,…
A bulging disc is like a jelly donut, picture in your mind a jelly donut, plump with strawberry filling. Comparing the discs in your back to jelly donuts gives you an idea of what happens when a disc herniates. Have you ever set a box of donuts on your office chair, only to absentmindedly plop…
Statistics suggest that low back pain (LBP) will plague most of us at some point in our lives, if it hasn’t already. Most healthcare professions that manage patients with low back pain focus on pain management. In fact, studies have reported that 67% of patient satisfaction is driven by pain elimination. One of the most…
Low back pain (LBP) occurs all over the world. Between 2004 and 2008, an estimated 2.06 million EPISODES of LBP occurred in the United States (US) alone! Each year, LBP accounts for 3.15% of all emergency visits with 65% of LB injuries occurring at home. According to estimates, two-thirds of all Americans will experience at…