Author: privium-admin

Inflammation in the bursal sac. A bursa is a thin sac around a joints that serves as a shock absorber between bone and surrounding soft tissue. The bursal sac is made up of a membrane that contains fluid. Trauma, friction, repetitive use can result in swelling that is localized, tenderness, pain in the affected area. Examples are bursas in the hip, knee, shoulder, or elbow areas. Can be treated with supportive care, rest, ice, medications, and injections just to name a few.

Pain that persists after adequate healing of spine surgical site. Despite the surgery being successful, one may experience unchanged or worse pain. Also there may have been post procedure complications such as infection, nerve damage, or failure for the surgery to achieve the intended anatomical goal. This condition is referred to as post-laminectomy syndrome. With cervical post laminectomy syndrome, the symptoms can involve the neck and upper extremities. With lumbar post laminectomy syndrome, symptoms can involve the lower back and lower extremities. Treatments are inclusive but not limited to medication, therapy, biofeedback, injections, and spinal cord stimulation.

Facet joints are small joints found at almost each spinal level (cervical, thoracic, lumbar). These joints aide in twisting motion and associated stability in the spine. The angles of the facet joints vary at each spinal level to provide limitations to excessive rotational forces that can lead to instability and injury. Symptoms can include back pain that may/may not radiate into posterior aspect of lower extremities or neck pain that may/may not radiate to the head and shoulders. Symptoms can be treated with non-surgically with medication, therapy, and facet joint injections, facet blocks, radio frequency ablation to name a few. In some cases of destabilizing spine injury, surgery may be an option.

The spine is a bony structure that starts from the base of the skull and ends at the tailbone. Consists of the cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (mid-back), lumbar spine (lower back), tailbone (sacrum and coccyx). This bony structure is interconnected via joints, discs, ligaments, nerves, tendons, muscles, and vascular network that work together to provide support, flexibility, and strength. Any of the components of the spine and its surrounding structures are susceptible to injury and can become pain generators.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and it is caused by the wear/tear of the cartilage that surrounds the joint. This can cause the bones of the joint to rub together, depending on the severity of the degeneration. This in turn causes an inflammatory response and pain. Osteoarthritis is also known as degenerative joint disease.

Sacroiliac joint is formed from the connection of sacrum with the pelvis on either side. Sources of pain or inflammation can result from degenerative joint changes, decreased or increased range of motion, injury, dysfunction of surrounding soft tissue structures. This can cause pain on either side of buttocks just below the lumbar spine. Symptoms can be treated with non-surgically with medication, therapy, and sacroiliac joint injection, sacroiliac nerve blocks, radio frequency ablation to name a few.

Strains or a “muscle pull” occur when the muscle is over-stretched or torn, resulting in damage to the muscle fibers. Ligaments are fibrous material that connects bones together. Sprains occur when ligaments are stretched too far or are torn. Repetitive stress to the body such as with sports can result in the above. A cascade of inflammation can occur resulting in pain in the affected area.

A chronic myofascial pain syndrome that causes generalized musculoskeletal pain in specific area of the body to become tender to the touch. Associated with but not limited to fatigue, sleep disturbances, joint stiffness, depression, and headaches. This form of pain is still being widely studied as it has no known or understood cause.

A condition in which the annulus fibrosis/outer part of vertebral disc has a defect. This causes the nucleus/inner portion of disc to herniate or slip through the defect. The herniated material can compress or pinch the surrounding nerves. This can cause pain to radiate into the upper extremities if its from the neck/cervical spine or into the lower extremities if from the lower back/lumbar spine. Symptoms can be treated with non-surgically with medication, therapy, and epidural steroid injections to name a few. In some cases, surgery may be an option.

Refers to abnormal narrowing of the bony canal that houses the spinal nerves or the spinal cord. Can occur from birth or can be acquired as the body ages. At times asymptomatic but noticeable symptoms such as radiating extremity pain from the neck or lower back, weakness, numbness or tingling occur when there is significant narrowing. Symptoms can be treated with non-surgically with medication, therapy, and epidural steroid injections to name a few. In some cases, surgery may be an option.