For my story.. I originally developed mild back pain in the summer of 2000 in Airborne School for the United States Army. At the time i just figured it was from the constant jarring motion and repetetively striking the ground feet first from a height of 3-4 feet. The pain was managable but pretty severe. […]

my wife (28) and i (37) were involved in a motor vehicle accident last thanksgiving. we hydroplaned and stuck a concrete highway divider at high speed, ~50 mph. we both suffered compression fractures of L1, my wife also had ligament damage to T12 along with a dislocated and fractured right foot. neither of us had […]

After suffering an injury in October,2006, I had an MRI done. The results of the MRI were:
At the C5/C6 level, there is a bulging disk which is asymmetric to the left. This is superimposed in bilateral uncinate hypertrophy and results in mild to moderate central and bilateral neural foraminal stenosis.
At the C6/C7 level, […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,
I have been experiencing very severe pain starting in my neck, and radiating across my shoulder, down my arm and into my thumb. This started just before Christmas. I have been seeing my Chiropoactor who suggests that I have a “C6 impingement”, but based on my pain level, he suggested I go to […]

I have had neck/back pain since a young child. I am 31 now. I had whiplash from being startled by a spider in June. I started doing Yoga which helped until Sept. when I started having severe muscle cramps in my legs and feet. My hand began to “wobble” back and forth when I would […]

I was in a bad car accident 15 months ago and still have burning and tingling in my left arm down to my thumb and shoulder pain. Two orthopaedic dr’s said nothing wrong with arm and that the only damage to my discs is normal degenerative damage not caused by accident and though an MRI […]

I am a 26 year old female who suffered a compression fracture of my L1 vertebra approx. 6 weeks ago due to a MVA. I was pain free after two weeks discontiuned use of my TLSO back brace a few days ago, which was recommended for me to wear for three months. Some information I […]

My wife, 51, began experiencing tingling/numbness in RT hand and arm … MRI showed stenosis at c4-5, c5-6, c6-7 … neurosurgeon performed “anterior cervical discectomy and interbody fusion, c4-5, c5-6, c6-7 with bone grafts from the right iliac crest.” Immediately when she awoke in recovery she couldn’t feel her legs. Stat x-ray and […]

Does saddle area numbness resolve over time? My understanding is that numbness and muscle weakness are both caused by nerve compression. I had surgery to decompress the nerves and my muscle weakness is improving, but the numbness has not changed. If both symptoms are caused by nerve compression and the surgery decompressed […]

This question and answer has been moved to the new Spinal Fusion Surgery informational site.
Spinal Fusion Surgery Systems: Dynesys

Degenerative Disk Disease - Spine MRI explanation - Degenerative Disc Disease
Hello I am 44 yr old woman who has multiple sclerosis. I suffer from horrible chronic back pain. Below is results from my mri. Does anyone recognise what any of it means??? Looks greek to me! Does it seem like surgery would fix any of […]

> I have cervical fusion at my c5-c6 and c6-c7 with
> metal plate. my last surgery was in 2001 on my c6-c7.
>
> I had an MRI done April of 2006 which shows at my
> c4-c5 a large broad-based posterior disk osteophyte
> bulge with mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing
> and severe canal stenosis. There is herniated […]

Dr. Joshua - can you please tell me how to research the new minimally invasive surgerys? The longevity etc. - If they really work etc in the long term, or do we know yet?
I talked to the spine institute in florida, and they will review my MRI for a second opinion. The next day they […]

I have cervical fusion at my c5-c6 and c6-c7 with metal plate. my last surgery was in 2001 on my c6-c7.
I had an MRI done April of 2006 which shows at my c4-c5 a large broad-based posterior disk osteophyte bulge with mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing and severe canal stenosis. There is herniated nucleus pulposus,centrally. […]

I have been having shoulder problems for many years. For the last couple of months, the top of my shoulder blade hurts. I can push in between the joints and feel the pain. But, the last couple of days the pain runs from my shoulder to by elbow and into the joints […]

Hi, I am a 36 year old female. I am having major problems and really want to find relief. My injury began 17 years ago,giving birth to my son, herniated L4L5 S1. Was bad off couldn’t walk etc. Neurosurgeon refused surgery, said I was to young (19) I went through extensive therapy, work hardening and […]

I have chronic pain at T8 area which never moves and wraps around to the end of the rib on the right side. i have had MRI/CT scans, which shows a disc bulge at T2 and a hemangioma at T8. I have had 2 injections, one in the fascia around the vertebrae at […]

I am female and 47. I have weakness in my left leg and have been progressively having more pain walking. I also have occasional pain in my left knee. An MRI reveals a pinched nerve at L2. My neurologist would like me to have a myelogram. I am deathly afraid of the epidural involved. 15 […]

Dear Doctor, 
 
I am 24 years old and I am involved in a number of active and extreme sports. I have not had any problems with my back up until now but I have been adviced not to do certain sports and I wanted to know the reason for this. 
 
My friend has informed me that bungee […]

I have severe scoliosis, 70 degree curvature. I would like to know where and who I should see in the USA to have this problem corrected. Who is the best surgeon in this field?
Dr.Sinuhe Answers:
Dear Janice,
Thanks for your question.
Who is “the best” is impossible to say, since that obviously depends on the definition. In […]

I am a 37 year old female from Kentucky. For the past two years I have been suffering from a constant headache, pain in the back of my neck, tingling in my left arm and leg, dizziness, buzzing tongue, facial pain, visual disturbances, and cognitive problems (short term memory loss, trouble finding words, etc.) […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,  I’m 34 years old. I’ve been experiencing tingling/ pins and needles in my hands - pinky and ring fingers, and a bit up the forearm. It started about 3 years ago, while I was pregnant, and just came on if I fell asleep on my back. The tingling is now constant, worse […]

This question and answer have been moved to:
Chronic Back Pain and Spinal Surgery

Hi Doctor: I am a 39 yr old RN and I have an important question to ask you. 
 
In 2002, I had C6-C7 fusion with plate and screws. Now I have a herniation at C5-C6 with radicular pain. My question, is it common for disks above or below a fusion to herniate?
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
Thank […]

I’m a 50 year old male in good health and never been hospitalized. About 6 days ago I was having trouble raising my right arm over my head. I realized I couldn’t even flex my bicep, and I couldn’t raise the arm at all. A week before that my right shoulder was aching near my […]

August 2, 2006 
Hi, 
I need help!  I have been having swallowing problems and now experiencing weight loss.  I do not have an appointment with a gastro doctor until August 28, 2006.  I had a barium swallow test done and it showed that my neck bones are pressing on my esophagus.  Is this problem for a gastro […]

Dear Dr. Joshua,  My uncle is residing in India, he is 67 years old and in 2001 was diagnosed with a type of myopathy in his lower back spine. He does not have pain but has lost the strengh to get up from a bed or chair. He was told that this a rare degenerative disease […]

here is a list of my symptoms..all beginning around January 3rdish.
1. chronic fatigue- i could sleep the entire day. i am often tired
when i wake up.
2. intolerance to alcohol - i used to drink pretty much every day and
now even the smell makes me nauseous.
3. chronic back pain - it is primarily in […]

about four months ago i took a hard fall down a flight of stairs besides a large hematoma that had to be drained i have experienced long periods of loose stools which i have had testing for… that all came back fine. But more recently i have been experiencing numbness and tingling down my arms […]

Dr Joshua, I have had Cervical Neck pain off and on for 10 years. (I am a nurse) In the past 6 months it has gotten worse. I saw my doctor when I developed numbness in my left ring and pinky fingers. I received epidural blocks, and the numbness went away. […]

Last week I was doing a mile walk over my lunch hour. A friend joined me this particular day. We work in a busy section of town so in places where there are no sidewalks require that I walk on the ground. Normally this isn’t a big deal but as I was talking to a […]

I had surgery on 2/9/05 for an intradural spinal tumor and a tethered spinal cord. Since surgery I have had an increase in numbness to my right leg on the outside potion. The numbness has now moved up into my buttocks and I am having trouble urinating. I cannot put much weight on my right […]

This interesting question along with the answer has been moved here:
Chronic Low Back Pain - Instability?

I have neck pain and numbness down my right arm. I haven’t had a recent injury, but I was in a rear end car collision 10 years ago. I have developed grinding and neck pain and stiffness. I have had numbness in my fingers that was primarily at night, but now it happens at work […]

I am a 41 year old female in nc. I was involved in a car accident and was rear ended while I was sitting still at a stop light. When i first went to the doctor the next morning my left hand and arm was actually numb, and i could not move my neck or […]

1.Are small discs protrusions in c2/3,c3/4 and c4/5 considered
herniated discs in middle age man?2. What’s the difference between protrusion
discs and extrusion discs and are both considered herniated discs?
3.What does degenerative changes in cervical spine means?
4. Are osteophytes in cervical spine formed as result of degenerative changes
or as result of trauma accidents,like auto rear end accidents?
5. […]

Please help me! I don’t know what you can say or do, but the pain I am in is driving me crazy.I have had pain in my lower back for a few years now As soon as I could I saw a doctor here…,he referred me to a specialist who took an xray and also sent […]

First question already! And very much to the point.. Thanks for submitting your question (via e-mail), Discman. Well, to answer it, it depends on whether you’re the doctor or the patient! Enough joking though: from your nickname I assume that you have been diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc, and if that’s the case, you […]