Be the perfect patient? To help a doctor properly diagnose you, it’s important to be thorough in the description of your symptoms. The more details, usually the better. A good practice to adopt is to write symptoms down along with information about when they started. Then, when you are at your appointment, you’ll be able to provide detailed, accurate information. Any and all symptoms should be recorded. Sometimes what may seem insignificant to you could be the information that leads your doctor to make a diagnosis. However, there is a difference between being a good patient and attempting to do your doctor’s job for them. While recording and properly identifying your symptoms is good practice, attempting to diagnose yourself is not. Record and monitor symptoms but do not begin jumping to conclusions about your condition. You can share concerns, fears or opinions with your doctor, but showing up with WebMD results does not a good patient make.
The most common cause of back pain ? When back pain is chronic (i.e. lasts three months or more and occurs frequently), there is likely a more serious underlying issue that needs to be addressed. A disc problem is one of the most common causes of chronic lower back pain in adults and usually appears as a herniated disc in the lumbar or is caused by a degenerative disc disease. When a lumbar disc herniates, the inner portion of the disc breaks through the tough outer portion causing severe pain in the lumbar spine. The pain is caused by irritation of the nerves in the back, usually as the herniated disc creates swelling in the nerve roots. A degenerative disc disease occurs when the invertebral discs in the back begin to dehydrate over time. This causes the discs to wear down and become more susceptible to injury. Too much force on dehydrated discs can tear, weaken and become painful, often leading to a herniation.
During the surgery, the surgeon will make incisions on the front and right and left sides of the neck in order to enter the space between the two vertebrae. Then, the damaged disk as well as any bone spurs that have occurred in the area as a result of the body reacting to the disrupted disk will be removed. Dr. Yuan uses a drill to widen the opening of the spinal cord to eliminate pressure it was putting on the cord and nerve roots. The vertebrae are then fused using a bone graft, often taken from the patient’s pelvis but sometimes a cadaver bone is used instead. If more than one disc has been damaged or if more stabilization is needed, a titanium plate or screws may be used to reinforce the vertebrae. This can help reduce neck pain after surgery as well as speed up recovery. In most cases the surgery is completed in one to two hours, however, it can take longer in some cases, especially when more than one disc must be removed. The surgeon should be able to provide a more accurate time measurement for the procedure based on the individual’s needs. Explore more details on Lumbar Discectomy Surgery.
Southern California neck pain sufferers — Eliminate neck pain with Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion surgery! The cervical spine is made up of seven bones or vertebrae stacked one on top of another forming the neck. In between the vertebrae are cushions called disks. These act as shock absorbers so when they deteriorate with age, the neck can become painful and hard to move. Loss of mobility with cervical disk degeneration is common. Because the upper part of the spinal cord passes through the cervical spine, the vertebrae or cervical disk can press on it when the opening becomes too narrow. Sometimes, the body reacts to a disrupted disk by forming bone spurs, which can also put pressure on the spinal nerves, causing pain. Pushing against the spinal nerves leads to pain, numbness and sometimes weakness in the neck and extremities. When nonsurgical treatments do not provide relief, surgery is often recommended. Anterior Cervical Disectomy Fusion, or ACDF, treats nerve root or spinal cord compression through spinal cord and nerve root decompression for those who suffer from back pain in Southern California. The goal is to stabilize the surrounding vertebrae where the disk has deteriorated. In most cases, a nerve root becomes inflamed because the disk has herniated allowing the jelly-like center of the disc to bulge through and put pressure on the nerve root or because the disc has degenerated and the cushion is no longer there to protect it.
Those who enter into a SI joint rehabilitation program can usually return to running with minor modifications. The more severe the case is, the more modifications will have to be made and longer rest period a physician may recommend. Many runners can return to running immediately by making modifications, but others with more severe pain may need to rest and rehabilitate for a while. In the latter case, it’s important that athletes take time to recover so they aren’t doing permanent damage to their body. Usually, a rehabilitation protocol and possible intervention to treat underlying cause (biomechanics, physical attributes, muscle problems) will result in complete recovery and zero residual pain. Surgical intervention offers similar results for more severe cases. With minimally-invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion procedures, doctors have reported less post-surgical bleeding and bruising as well as a shorter operating time.
Dr. Yuan is trained in robotics and offers minimally invasive surgical procedures, including spinal cord stimulation, to help patients achieve pain relief, recover faster and face less surgical risk. Dr. Philip Yuan is a board certified Orthopedic Surgeon and fellowship trained spinal surgeon who emphasizes non-surgical treatment first and only recommends surgical procedures when absolutely necessary to better a patient’s quality of life. Find more info on Yuanspine.com.