All Posts Tagged: arkansas spine care

Intraoperative Navigation

What is intraoperative navigation?

Sophisticated imaging equipment that is used during surgery to provide accurate anatomical localization of important structures.

How does it help in spine surgery?

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Is your bulging disk causing your back pain?

As our bodies age so do our spines. Arthritic changes will be present in the spine which include bulging disks, degenerative disk disease and joint changes. The degree that these changes occur are often related to genetics. A simple bulging disk is actually an extremely common finding on MRIs of the spine and is not an indication for surgery. There are many other structures in the low back and neck that are very sensitive to pain especially the muscles and numerous joints that support the spine. These are more often the cause of low back and neck pain and are treated with conservative therapies. Occasionally a disk will actually herniate out of the normal position between the vertebral bones and cause pressure on spinal nerve resulting in extremity pain. The disk herniation itself is not painful but can result in pain by causing inflammation and/or pressure on these spinal nerves. If extremity pain from a compressive herniated disk cannot be fixed with conservative treatments sometimes surgery is indicated. Our neurosurgeons are trained to read spine MRIs, understand the complicated anatomy of the spine and perform neurological exams to determine appropriate treatment options. 

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Lumbar Disc Disease

Symptoms

Symptoms vary depending on the severity of the condition, and may range from no symptoms to severe pain in the back and or legs with variable degrees of numbness, tingling and weakness in the legs.

Causes

The lumbar discs are the cushions between each of the lumbar vertebrae in the lower back. These cushions are composed of an inner layer of material called the nucleus pulposus, which is surrounded by fibrous bands called the annulus. The nucleus material is a gelatinous core that has the consistency of “boiled shrimp”. These cushions serve as the shock absorbers in our lower back, just like the shock in your car. These “shock absorbers” experience daily wear and tear.

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Myelopathy

Myelopathy is a term used to describe dysfunction of the spinal cord. This most commonly occurs due to degenerative or aging changes in the spine.  Degenerative changes occur in everyone to varying degrees. Common radiologic signs of degenerative changes include enlargement of the joints, degradation of the disks and bone, bone spurs and even herniated disks. Most of the time these changes do not cause problems. However, in some patients these changes can cause significant narrowing of the spinal canal resulting in spinal stenosis. Stenosis can cause pressure on the spinal cord and cause spinal cord dysfunction or myelopathy. The spinal cord relays information from the brain to the rest of your body and myelopathy can interrupt these important neurological pathways causing discomfort.

Symptoms may include: 

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Congratulations to Dustin Johnson for his Playoff Opener Win

The Play by Play

Dustin Johnson is cool under pressure! Despite falling five shots behind Jordan Spieth after five holes Sunday in the Northern Trust, Johnson never panicked.

The seemingly insurmountable deficit was wiped clean in five holes, with Johnson making two birdies and Spieth finding water on the sixth hole for a double-bogey. Spieth, then making another bogey on the ninth. From the 11th on, Johnson out-dueled Spieth and won the opener of the FedExCup Playoffs with two great performances on the final hole.

On the 72nd hole, Johnson, facing a make-or-break situation, buried an 18-footer  for par to force a playoff, and then claimed the hardware on the first extra hole, when he unleashed the longest drive on the 18th all week — a 341-yarder that easily cleared the lake — and then struck a 60-degree wedge to 3 feet and made the putt to win.

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The Simple Facts: Lumbar Stenosis

Stenosis is a common spinal condition caused by arthritic build up in the joints (facet joints) and ligaments in the lower back. In addition, one may have a disc bulging that causes pressure on the nerves passing through the narrow canal.

Symptoms:

Back and leg pain down one or both legs, numbness or tingling, weakness often associated with electric shocks running from the back to the feet. These symptoms are increasingly aggravated, at a varying degree while walking, and improve when sitting or stooping forward.

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“The Golfer’s Swing: A Multi-modal Approach to Improving Your Game”

A competitive edge is a highly sought attribute for any serious athlete. As young, healthy athletes slowly begin to add years of experience to his/her playing card, there are added stressors and strains that inevitably accumulate. Very often I see an aging adult that has the follow through and motivation of a champion but an uncooperative physique. So the question then becomes, how can the imminent become less inhibiting?

Let’s discuss some of the limiting factors and how we might be able to address these items through a strengthening and flexibility regime that could potentially be the difference between double bogey and par. Primary areas of focus will include hip range of motion, low back musculature, and biomechanics of your golf swing.

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What is Sciatica?

In order to best understand sciatica, it’s important to first understand the literal “ins and outs” of what it’s caused by, what it feels like and how to treat it.

The first misconception to address is that sciatica is not an actual medical diagnosis- it’s a symptom of a medical condition.  More specifically, it’s the uncomfortable symptom of tingling, numbness, weakness or pain running from the lower spine, through the buttock, into the back of the thigh and down through the foot- the route of the largest single nerve in your body, the sciatic nerve.

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Bigger is Not Better for Back Surgery

With minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) advancements, people with major back conditions have some exciting new treatment options. Understanding the best option for your back needs begins with better understanding what MISS is and the benefits it delivers.

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minimally invasive spine surgery

Get Back to Living Without Pain

If you are a weekend golfer, avid skier, outdoor enthusiast, or simply a dedicated desk-job employee, you may experience back and sciatica pain (tingling, numbness or weakness that originates in the lower back and travels through the buttock and down the leg). If that pain has not responded well to conservative care, you may be a candidate for an exciting new alternative to open spine fusion surgery.

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