| Whoa! I never thought I'd have to write in for help like this but I need it. I was told I have thoracic outlet syndrome and that's what was causing my neck and arm pain. I had surgery to set the nerves free. I'm not any better. Now the surgeon wants to take a chunk of my rib out. How is that going to help? | 7 years 23 weeks ago | 607 |
| While percutaneous vertebroplasty is shown to be an effective, minimially invasive treatment for compression fractures, often subsequent fracture can be a problem. What is the likelihood of subsequent fracture? | 4 years 38 weeks ago | 602 |
| Whenever I wear a backpack (even a light one) the area just above my collarbone hurts and my right hand goes numb. What could be causing this? | 7 years 23 weeks ago | 553 |
| What's the difference between vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for spine fractures? | 8 years 18 weeks ago | 670 |
| What's a "meningioma?" My daughter was diagnosed with this and is going to have an operation to remove it. | 9 years 19 weeks ago | 631 |
| What is thoracic outlet syndrome? | 12 years 13 weeks ago | 747 |
| What is a vertebral compression fracture? How is it treated? | 11 years 15 weeks ago | 675 |
| What is a clefted vertebral fracture? My mother's hospital bill just came to us with this as the diagnosis. I know she had a vertebroplasty for her spine. Is that how they treat whatever this problem is? | 8 years 18 weeks ago | 519 |
| What is a cervical rib? Our pediatrician says this may be what's causing my son's neck and arm pain. How can a rib cause arm pain? | 5 years 47 weeks ago | 653 |
| We just came from the orthopedic surgeon's office where my husband was told he has a vertebral compression fracture. He's going to have a vertebroplasty. The nurse reviewed all of the possible complications. It seemed like she talked the most about cement leakage. How often does this happen, and why is it such a problem? | 5 years 28 weeks ago | 550 |
| We are just a little disappointed in the results of surgery our son had for Scheuermann's disease. At the time of the fusion, he was 16. Now at age 22, he has developed another curve above the fusion. What causes this to happen? Does it happen often? | 5 years 25 weeks ago | 671 |
| Our son has been treated with serial casting and now a body brace for Scheuermann's deformity. The curve continues to get worse. We've been told that surgery is the next step. How do we know when the best time is for surgery? Is it possible to wait too long? Operate too soon? | 5 years 27 weeks ago | 755 |
| Our nephew was in a terrible motorcyle and broke the middle of his spine in half. He had a six-hour surgery to put screws in place to hold the spine upright while it heals. He's up walking already and not even using a brace. We're more than a little concerned about this. Shouldn't he have some kind of external support? | 4 years 51 weeks ago | 626 |
| Our 45-year old son had decompressive surgery on his spine for a condition called OPLL. Right after the operation his legs were numb. He's back in surgery now. Can this kind of paralysis be reversed? | 6 years 43 weeks ago | 614 |
| Our 17-year-old son has a condition called Scheuermann's disease. The doctor has advised surgery to fuse his upper back. How much correction will he get? | 6 years 46 weeks ago | 664 |
| Our 17-year old son has been wearing a brace for three years for Scheuermann's disease. It doesn't seem to be helping. How do we know when it's time for surgery? | 7 years 27 weeks ago | 594 |
| Our 16-year-old son is going to have spinal surgery for Scheuermann's disease. I know there are complications possible with any operation. What can happen after this one? My family thinks I worry too much. But I prefer to know what to expect and prepare for the worst. | 5 years 25 weeks ago | 733 |
| My wife is off work with a burst fracture of the spine. She only works part-time, so she doesn't have any sick leave. I lost my job six weeks ago, so this really puts us in a financial bind. How long does an injury like this take to heal? | 3 years 36 weeks ago | 1004 |
| My wife is going to have a vertebroplasty for a vertebral compression fracture. The surgical nurse and the surgeon both went over the possible problems that can develop after such a procedure. I forgot to ask how soon after the operation would we expect to see a problem develop? Is it right away? Months later? | 5 years 38 weeks ago | 567 |
| My teen's wearing a brace for scoliosis. Does time spent in the brace affect how well it works? | 11 years 11 weeks ago | 548 |
| My surgeon told me one drawback to the cement they injected into my spine is leakage. Fortunately that didn't happen to me. How do they know how much to put in? | 6 years 20 weeks ago | 537 |
| My sister says she's got a problem called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome with neck and arm pain. Sometimes there's numbness and tingling in her hand. I suspect she is in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. Can this syndrome be caused by physical abuse? | 7 years 23 weeks ago | 556 |
| My mother-in-law is having her second back operation in two months. The first took pressure off her lumbar spine. The second is to remove a tumor in her upper back, which was really causing the problems. Right now she is paralyzed from the waist down. Will she recover from this? | 9 years 19 weeks ago | 557 |
| 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 1 week ago | 614 |
| My mother's doctor wants to inject cement into her back to help her with her pain. He says that my mother has fractured discs and that the cement will help keep them stable. Will this hurt and how is it done? | 4 years 30 weeks ago | 772 |
| My mother just came back from the doctor's office. She says she has a "giant" herniated disc in the middle of her back. Is she exaggerating or is this a real medical term? | 7 years 30 weeks ago | 554 |
| My mother has a hump in the upper part of her back. She said her upper back hurts constantly because of it. Her mother also had the same problem. Is there any way I can avoid this, or am I genetically destined to end up with a hump like hers? | 11 years 46 weeks ago | 742 |
| My mother had osteoporosis in her later years. She often complained about getting shorter. Is there a connection? | 11 years 11 weeks ago | 546 |
| My mother fell this week and started having severe back pain about three days later. X-rays showed two rib fractures and a vertebral compression fracture. She can hardly get out of bed because of the pain. She's 86-years old. Can anything be done to help her? | 6 years 34 weeks ago | 631 |
| My mother fell and hurt her back six months ago. She's tried everything to ease the pain. Last week she had an MRI that showed a vertebral compression fracture. Is it too late for her to have the new cement treatment to glue it back together? | 7 years 1 week ago | 579 |
