A spinal implant developed in Israel has given almost total relief to a 74 year old farmer, who was previously disabled with severe lower back pain due to age related spinal stenosis. Who had resigned himself to a painful old age.
Just a weekend in hospital for this spinal surgery (Total Posterior Arthroplasty) gave Yehuda Schwartz a new lease of life, and is now back working on his farm.
As regular readers will know I am no fan of spinal surgery, but this does seem rather special. The excellent results so far achieved stem from the implant allowing normal movement of the affected area of the spine instead of the more usual treatment of spinal fusion.
You can watch a short (3 minute) video here which explains the process in more detail. One to watch out for!
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Friday, 18 April 2014
Hooks And Nails As A Cure For Chronic Back Pain
Sounds like something out of a DIY manual, but, as a case study reported on the Mail Online website by Roger Dobson, this is pretty much how surgeons have all but cured a 41 year old man's three year chronic back pain.
It's a simple enough premise. The type of back pain the man was suffering from is believed to stem from a stress or fatigue fracture of the spine. Untreated this gradually gets worse, ultimately leading to debilitating chronic back ache.
This procedure, the first of its kind in Britain, was performed by consultant spinal surgeon Raymond Ross, who carried out the operation at the Manchester BUPA Hospital.
In very simplistic terms it involves using what can be called nails and hooks to hold a small piece of bone across the defect, which eventually over a few weeks grafts itself into place, eliminating the stress causing the pain.
Interesting stuff, and I'm sure we will be seeing more of this type of operation in the future if the long term results prove favourable. To read the full article use this link.
It's a simple enough premise. The type of back pain the man was suffering from is believed to stem from a stress or fatigue fracture of the spine. Untreated this gradually gets worse, ultimately leading to debilitating chronic back ache.
This procedure, the first of its kind in Britain, was performed by consultant spinal surgeon Raymond Ross, who carried out the operation at the Manchester BUPA Hospital.
In very simplistic terms it involves using what can be called nails and hooks to hold a small piece of bone across the defect, which eventually over a few weeks grafts itself into place, eliminating the stress causing the pain.
Interesting stuff, and I'm sure we will be seeing more of this type of operation in the future if the long term results prove favourable. To read the full article use this link.
Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Foot and Hand Reflexology to Relieve Back Pain
Just a quick post today. As I'm sure all readers of this back pain blog know, reflexology has been gaining in popularity over recent years for all sorts of ailments.
I chanced upon this article on wikihow which explains the methods of relieving your back pain using pressure points in the hands and feet using easy to follow illustrations.
I have to say I have not tried this myself, however it is non invasive, and something you can do for yourself almost anywhere at any convenient time.
Seems to be similar to acupuncture, without the needles (acupuncture for wimps). Could be worth a try. If you want to read how to do it go here.
I chanced upon this article on wikihow which explains the methods of relieving your back pain using pressure points in the hands and feet using easy to follow illustrations.
I have to say I have not tried this myself, however it is non invasive, and something you can do for yourself almost anywhere at any convenient time.
Seems to be similar to acupuncture, without the needles (acupuncture for wimps). Could be worth a try. If you want to read how to do it go here.
Saturday, 5 April 2014
Prolotherapy, The "Secret" Cure For Back Pain Returns
Sorry about the headline, but I have to get you to read these posts somehow!
Todays gem comes in an article by Nigel Summerly on the Daily Mail website. Prolotherapy has been around since the late 1950's. It had a bit of a rocky start when two of the early patients died after things went wrong.
Since then the procedure has been refined and made safer, in fact it is now one of the safest invasive treatments for not only back pain but chronic sacroiliac dysfunction, where the pelvic ligaments have been strained, whiplash injuries and sports injuries also, with not one serious problem for 40 years.
One of the main practitioners of this technique is Dr John Tanner, a musculoskeletal physician and sports injury specialist based in Chichester, West Sussex, one of a handful of specialists who use prolotherapy in the UK.
Prolotherapy involves injecting a fluid mixture (details in the full article) into each of the two ends of a damaged ligament near to where it joins the bone. This apparently triggers a proliferation of healthy new connective tissue in damaged areas.
This treatment, especially effective for chronic lower back pain, is described as "secret" by Dr. Tanner due to the fact so few doctors or patients know about it.
This article is worth a read. I'm not sure if I would go for it, but interesting nonetheless, and a couple of case studies show it in a positive light.
Have a look here and make up your own mind.
Todays gem comes in an article by Nigel Summerly on the Daily Mail website. Prolotherapy has been around since the late 1950's. It had a bit of a rocky start when two of the early patients died after things went wrong.
Since then the procedure has been refined and made safer, in fact it is now one of the safest invasive treatments for not only back pain but chronic sacroiliac dysfunction, where the pelvic ligaments have been strained, whiplash injuries and sports injuries also, with not one serious problem for 40 years.
One of the main practitioners of this technique is Dr John Tanner, a musculoskeletal physician and sports injury specialist based in Chichester, West Sussex, one of a handful of specialists who use prolotherapy in the UK.
Prolotherapy involves injecting a fluid mixture (details in the full article) into each of the two ends of a damaged ligament near to where it joins the bone. This apparently triggers a proliferation of healthy new connective tissue in damaged areas.
This treatment, especially effective for chronic lower back pain, is described as "secret" by Dr. Tanner due to the fact so few doctors or patients know about it.
This article is worth a read. I'm not sure if I would go for it, but interesting nonetheless, and a couple of case studies show it in a positive light.
Have a look here and make up your own mind.
Friday, 4 April 2014
Crushing Your Bones Can Cure Your Disc Problem
An article by David Hurst on the Daily Mail website reports the story of how a lady that had suffered with back pain due to a split prolapsed disc for almost 15 years finally found relief with an operation which used crushed pieces of spine to support the spine when the damaged disc was removed.
Actually this was in 2012 but I only just found the article, which I thought readers might be interested in.
This lady had a discectomy at the age of 25 which, as is the way with much back surgery, was of limited help, and was in fact pretty much back where she started after 6 months. Taking up to 36 tablets a day at one stage.
Fortunately for her she was eventually referred to spinal surgeon Manoj Krishna, who diagnosed Post Discectomy Syndrome (where the part of the disc that was left after the original operation had disintegrated and become inflamed) and suggested completely removing the damaged disc along with two tiny joints alongside it, and replacing them with a small cage of carbon fibre, filled with crushed bone from the removed joints.
Manoj Krishna is one of several surgeons now using this procedure in the UK. And the results in this particular case were nothing short of miraculous with this patient now 100% better. Even to the point of wearing high heels, trampolining, ice-skating and snowmobiling. Plus, no more medication.
This is really quite inspiring and makes an interesting read. If you have disc problems this could be worth checking out. Read the article here.
Actually this was in 2012 but I only just found the article, which I thought readers might be interested in.
This lady had a discectomy at the age of 25 which, as is the way with much back surgery, was of limited help, and was in fact pretty much back where she started after 6 months. Taking up to 36 tablets a day at one stage.
Fortunately for her she was eventually referred to spinal surgeon Manoj Krishna, who diagnosed Post Discectomy Syndrome (where the part of the disc that was left after the original operation had disintegrated and become inflamed) and suggested completely removing the damaged disc along with two tiny joints alongside it, and replacing them with a small cage of carbon fibre, filled with crushed bone from the removed joints.
Manoj Krishna is one of several surgeons now using this procedure in the UK. And the results in this particular case were nothing short of miraculous with this patient now 100% better. Even to the point of wearing high heels, trampolining, ice-skating and snowmobiling. Plus, no more medication.
This is really quite inspiring and makes an interesting read. If you have disc problems this could be worth checking out. Read the article here.
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