Spine Conditions Treated

Cervical Disc Herniations

• A cervical disc herniation is when the cushion, or shock absorber, between the bones in your spine is injured or degenerated. Herniations can push on nerves in your neck or the spinal cord itself, causing pain and dysfunction.
• A disc herniation in your neck can cause significant pain. Often the pain can be felt in the neck and in your arms or upper back.
• Disc herniations in the neck can cause pain, burning, numbness, or weakness down your arms. These symptoms can be in one or both arms.
  Sometimes disc herniations in your neck can be so severe that they can causes neurological issues with balance, using your hands, and walking.

Lumbar Disc Herniations

• A lumbar disc herniation is when the cushion, or shock absorber, between the bones in your spine is injured or degenerated. Herniations can push on the nerves in your lower back, causing pain in your back, down your legs or buttocks, or both.
• Disc herniations in your lower back can cause pain, burning, numbness, or weakness in your legs.
• Sometimes the symptoms are down one leg, both legs, or isolated in the buttocks. 

Cervical Spinal Stenosis

• This is a commonly missed diagnosis. Cervical spinal stenosis is when the bones and discs in the neck become arthritic and cause pressure on the spinal cord. When the spinal cord gets compressed in the neck, it can cause a wide variety of symptoms.
  • Often there is little or no pain in the neck itself
  • Pain or numbness in the hands and arms
  • Problems with using your hands 
  • Problems with balance and dexterity
• Cervical spinal stenosis is commonly misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome or peripheral neuropathy
• When the spinal cord is compressed over long periods of time, the cells in the spinal cord can die, causing a syndrome called Cervical Myelopathy. Cervical myelopathy may start out mild but can end in paralysis or severe loss of function. It is critical to diagnose and treat cervical stenosis before it worsens and causes irreversible nerve damage. 

Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

• Lumbar spinal stenosis is when the bones, discs, or both bones and discs in your lower back become arthritic and push on the nerves. This commonly causes severe low back pain, buttock pain, leg pain, or all of the above.
• This is a commonly missed diagnosis. 
• The symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis are often worse when standing in one place for longer than a few seconds. Symptoms often lessen when flexing forward or sitting down.
• If you feel that you have to lean over or walk flexed forward to avoid pain, you might have lumbar stenosis.
  • The “shopping cart sign” is when older patients have to lean over a shopping cart or use an assistive device.
• This disease process is often mistaken for problems or arthritis in the hip joints. 

Slipped Discs in the Lumbar Spine

• Slipped discs, or spondylolisthesis, is when arthritis causes the joints in the spine to become unstable so that the discs slip forward or backward. This can cause pressure on the nerves or spinal cord.
• In female patients, the most common area for a slipped disc is at the L4-L5 level. This is incredibly common in females and often misdiagnosed.
• In male patients, the most common area for a slipped disc is at the L5-S1 level. This is a common causes of buttock and leg pain in men.

Neck Pain

• If you have had neck pain for longer than 6 weeks, or if you have experienced a traumatic event or injury to the neck, you should have your spine imaged to make sure there is not an underlying problem.
• If your neck pain also comes with arm or shoulder pain, it needs to be imaged further.

Lower Back Pain

• If you have had lower back pain for longer than 6 weeks, or in the setting of a traumatic event or injury to your back, you should have your spine imaged to make sure there is not an underlying problem.
• If your lower back pain also comes with buttock or leg pain, you should have your spine imaged to make sure there is not an underlying problem.

Cervical Myelopathy

• Cervical Myelopathy is a condition in which the spinal cord in the neck is compressed over long periods of time, causing spinal cord cells to die. Patients with cervical myelopathy often present with issues in their hands and arms, dexterity, and balance, with or without neck pain itself. This disease process is often misdiagnosed as peripheral neuropathy or carpal tunnel syndrome.
• This is one of the most commonly missed diagnoses in my patients.

Adult Spinal Deformity

• In some situations, patients have a large curvature in their spine that causes debilitating pain and other symptoms. Spinal curvatures can result in pressure on the nerves in the spine and require treatment.

SI Joint Pain

• The sacroiliac joint is the area of the low back that attaches the lumbar spine to the pelvis. It is a large joint on both sides of the sacrum, or tail bone, that can become irritated or arthritic.
• SI joint pain is an often missed problem in the low back. 
• Minimally invasive treatment options are available to patients that have failed all forms of nonoperative treatment.