Texas Spine Associates Texas Spine Associates
What is the difference between a bulging disc and herniated disc? Bulging discs are sometimes called “slipped” discs, whereas a herniated disc can be called a “ruptured” disc. Ruptured sounds a bit more serious and, in fact, it causes more pain. That is just the first difference.
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Although scoliosis normally is diagnosed in childhood or early puberty, it can develop in adulthood too. It is an abnormal curvature of your backbone or spine which runs down your back. Everyone has a small amount of curve, but if you have scoliosis, your spine curves to the left or to the right, making it look like the letter C or S. There are several health issues associated with having scoliosis. Let’s review the link between scoliosis and other health issues.
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Your sciatic nerve is the longest and widest nerve in your body. It connects your spinal cord and the muscles in the lower back, legs, and feet. It is affected by anything that irritates or puts pressure on the nerve root like a herniated or slipped disc. Look for these 6 signs you may have sciatica.
If you have back pain, you are not alone. So much so that back pain is the world’s leading cause of disability according to the Global Burden Of Disease. Maybe you just tweak a muscle in your back and it goes away within days with rest and ice. Perhaps you bent down to tie a shoe in an awkward position, and suddenly there is a shooting pain. These instances happen to all of us at some time, but what about more serious back problems? Watch out for these 7 signs a back injury is serious.
Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of spaces in your spine, and it compresses the spinal cord and nerve roots. This tightened space causes the spinal cord to become irritated, compressed, or pinched leading to back pain and other symptoms. Here are some keys to understanding the signs and symptoms of spinal stenosis.
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A back spasm can hit you like a crack of lightning. It can be sudden, severe, and prevent normal movement. Unfortunately, it is quite common. Let’s find out why they happen and when to see a doctor for back spasms.
If you must have surgery, would you prefer one with more damage to your body or less? How about a surgery with more pain or less, a longer hospital stay or a shorter one, and a surgery with the possibility of multiple complications or one which delivers fewer complications? We think we know the answer. Fortunately, there are more and more surgical procedures available that offer a minimally invasive alternative. What are the benefits of minimally invasive surgery?
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We all have had occasions where we slept weird and then woke up with pains in our neck. Maybe we just overdid it during our last workout, and we were left with an ache in our neck. Most of the time these little bouts of neck pain resolve and go away within a day or two. When your neck continues to bother you after medications and rest, now might be when to see a spine specialist for neck pain.
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Preparing to see any new doctor for the first time can be a bit stressful. You don’t know what to expect, whether you will feel comfortable with this new person, and what you need to bring and communicate. If your back and spine are the problem, you’re already in pain, so seeing a spine doctor should be as painless as possible.
Many things in our body change as we get older. Our hair turns gray, many of us lose our close up vision, and the discs in our spine begin to degenerate. Our spinal discs act as cushions or shock absorbers between the bones in our spine. This is known as DDD. We can dye our hair and get reading glasses, but can degenerative disc disease be reversed?
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