A Guide for Understanding Pain After Spinal Fusion Surgery
A Guide for Understanding Pain After Spinal Fusion Surgery What if I told you that roughly 1.5 million spinal fusions are performed in America each year, and that only about fifty percent of patients experience significant improvement in back and neck pain? Many patients assume the spinal fusion surgery recommended for their particular condition will […]
Tiger Woods Loses to Back Pain
Tiger Woods Loses to Back Pain Tiger Woods and his story and his battle with chronic lower back pain. Chronic lower back pain is the number one reason people go to the doctor worldwide. There are over a billion people worldwide suffering with chronic debilitating lower back pain. Tiger Woods is just one of those […]
Think Twice Before Taking Gabapentin for Back Pain
Think Twice Before Taking Gabapentin for Back Pain Chronic back pain is one of the most common disabilities people face on a daily basis. While “back pain” is a general term, there are thirty known causes. Some of the more common ones include: Herniated disc Facetogenic pain Sacroilitis Piriformis Pain Over time, trauma and inflammation […]
8 Reasons Nurses Avoid Spinal Fusion Surgery
For individuals suffering from chronic back and neck pain, spine surgery can represent a path toward relief. While surgeons lead the procedure, a highly skilled team works in unison to ensure patient safety. Central to this team are nurses, both in the operating room and medical floors, all experts who play a critical role during […]
8 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR SPINE SURGEON
If you have been recommended for spinal surgery you are not alone — it is estimated that over 1.5M were performed in 2024. That’s a huge amount of invasive spine surgeries with a 64% infection rate. As a patient advocate for my entire career, that is an alarming number indicating the possibility of a large […]
SPINAL FUSION SURGERY: MYTH vs. REALITY
If you’re dealing with severe back or neck pain, your surgeon will most likely recommend spinal fusion surgery. With over 1.5 million procedures expected by the end of 2025, it’s a common treatment path. However, it’s a highly invasive, major operation with significant implications that deserve careful consideration. This article will walk you through the […]
Options to Spinal Fusion Surgery – How Safe Are They?
Introduction Back pain affects every aspect of your life. When conservative treatments fail, many patients are told that spinal fusion is their only option. This highly invasive, major surgery involves permanently connecting two or more vertebrae in your spine to eliminate motion between them. It has numerous surgical risks and many long-term complications. Advances in […]
Collateral Damage Caused by Spinal Fusion Surgery
Spinal fusion surgery is often marketed as a permanent solution for chronic neck and back pain by fusing two or more vertebrae to eliminate painful movement and improve spinal alignment. The surgical approach needed to reach the spine can cause unavoidable damage to the intricate network of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints that support it. […]
The Danger of Infections After Spinal Fusion Surgery
Spinal surgery is generally considered an invasive procedure; however, even minimally invasive (MIS) spine procedures carry the same risk of postoperative infection. Why? Regardless of the level of invasiveness, bacteria and fungi consistently remain the primary causes of surgical site infection(SSI). Spinal fusion surgeries have a higher risk of SSI because they involve spinal hardware […]
Laminectomy: Decompression Through Destruction
The primary purpose of a laminectomy, also known as decompression surgery, is to alleviate pressure on the spinal cord or the nerves that branch out from it by creating space with the removal of a portion of a vertebra called the lamina. This pressure, often referred to as compression, can cause pain, numbness, or weakness […]