| We are trying to take care of my mother-in-law in our home now. She has two collapsed bones in her spine that are causing her a lot of pain. Is there anything we can do to help make her more comfortable? | 5 years 5 days ago | 357 |
| I was in a car accident and fractured my thoracic spine in two places. I've been trying to get by without surgery, but I notice the pain is getting worse and so is my posture. Should I wait and see if this is going to get better? Or should I go for the surgery originally recommended by the doctor on call at the hospital where I went at the time of the accident? | 5 years 5 days ago | 1083 |
| Is it really true that spinal fractures can be treated without surgery? That's the report we heard on our mother's recent fall and fracture. Does it just heal on its own? | 5 years 5 days ago | 487 |
| My husband was diagnosed with a rare cause of a condition called Brown-Séquard syndrome. He has a very large disc pressing on one side of the spinal cord in his neck. He's in surgery now. What are the chances he'll come out of this okay? | 5 years 5 days ago | 399 |
| I have chronic lower back pain and my doctor wants me to go for TENS. What is that and how does it work? | 5 years 5 days ago | 336 |
| Why is the back so vulnerable to being hurt? | 5 years 5 days ago | 743 |
| How common is lower back pain? It seems like everyone I know has a bad back. | 5 years 5 days ago | 475 |
| My mother's doctor wants to inject her back with medication with an epidural injection to help relieve her back pain. I'm really worried about the potential problems. What can go wrong? | 5 years 5 days ago | 613 |
| My husband just came out of surgery for a herniated disc. The surgeon did a discectomy and said the nerve was pulsing beautifully before they finished the operation. What does that mean? | 5 years 1 week ago | 292 |
| I had part of a disc removed at L3,4 six months ago. Now I need a second operation to remove more of the disc material at the same level. Does this happen very often? I'm most unhappy about it. | 5 years 1 week ago | 490 |
| I am having ongoing problems with my low back. My medical doctor and my chiropractor have both suggested exercise as a way to break through the pain-spasm cycle that I'm in. I tried it for a little while, but it didn't seem to help. What should I do next? | 5 years 1 week ago | 475 |
| My doctor has suggested I try some cognitive-behavioral counseling for my chronic low back pain. I'm sure I have something wrong with my spine. How is this going to help me? | 5 years 1 week ago | 263 |
| Have you ever heard of rescue medication? My older sister says this is what the nurse practitioner gave her for her chronic back pain. My sis seems to think this might work for her. What is it? | 5 years 1 week ago | 521 |
| No one can seem to find out what's causing my low back pain. I've seen three specialists so far. No one has spent more than 20 minutes with me to even find out what's wrong. Does this seem right to you? | 5 years 1 week ago | 287 |
| I've been having a nagging backache for weeks now. I finally went to see my doctor. She suggested I try a couple of sessions with a physical therapist. The therapist just did a little pressing on my spine and I was much better right away. Was this just a psychosomatic response -- I wanted to get better so anything would have worked? | 5 years 2 weeks ago | 381 |
| When my wife went for her back surgery (through her abdomen), we expected her not to be allowed to eat beforehand, but we didn't expect for her to have to take very strong laxatives to empty her bowels and then to swallow barium. Why was that? | 5 years 2 weeks ago | 741 |
| I heard about someone who had back surgery through her stomach. How (and why!) is that possible? | 5 years 2 weeks ago | 4118 |
| I often get painful sciatica. My neighbor tells me that it's my back that is causing the pain, even though the pain is in my backside, hip and the back of my leg. Is she right? | 5 years 2 weeks ago | 341 |
| I'd like to see the best expert for acupuncture to treat my low back pain. I've already tried manipulation with a chiropractor. It didn't really seem to help that much. How do I figure out who the expert is? In our community, we have a board certified anesthesiologist who also does acupuncture and the chiropractor I've been seeing who has experience in acupuncture. | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 564 |
| I am seeking the services of an acupuncturist for chronic low back pain. But I'm finding that some people trained in acupuncture have other skills as well. Some are also naturopaths or massage therapists. Is it better to see someone who just does one thing (acupuncture)? Or is it better to see someone who could do a variety of treatments? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 427 |
| I retired last year after a long and happy career with the U.S. Forest Service. I've been surprised that my neck and back pain haven't gone away. I always assumed it was related to my job lifting and hauling wood products and heavy loads. Why do I still have back pain if I'm not working? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 489 |
| What should we do? Our 93-year old grandma has constant back pain. How can we help her? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 370 |
| I had a lumbar spinal fusion from L3 to L5. The X-ray shows that one side took better than the other. I don't feel any different from one side to the other. Should I? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 622 |
| I'm a nurse on a med-surg floor. I often have patients who have had a microdiscectomy. We give them a patient-controlled analgesic pump to use for pain control during the first 24-hours. Some patients can't seem to get enough to control their pain. Others hardly use any at all. I know people have different pain sensitivities, but is there more to it than that? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 339 |
| My brother is a recovering alcoholic. He's going to have back surgery next week. The nurse told him he would be given a pain pump to use for the first 24-hours. This is supposed to allow him to control his pain. When he needs more pain meds, he just pushes the button. Is this really a good idea for someone who already has a history of addiction? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 259 |
| How does it work when a bone graft is used in spinal fusion? Does the bone they take from my hip and put in the spine cause hip bone cells to form? Does it matter so long as they are bone cells? What about the new substitute bone graft material that's available? How does that make bone cells? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 703 |
| I am a worker's comp case with chronic work-related low back pain. I've been looking into getting a disc replacement. Are worker's comp patients even considered for this type of operation? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 486 |
| I have chronic low back pain from a herniated disc. I asked my surgeon about having a disc replacement. She just said that I wasn't a good candidate for that procedure. Who is? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 309 |
| Will there ever be a cure for back pain? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 541 |
| How old is the specialty of spinal care and how has it changed? | 5 years 4 weeks ago | 513 |
