Conditions

Question 1

What is arthritis?

Answer 1

The term arthritis describes many different diseases that cause tenderness, pain, swelling and stiffness of the joints.

Question 2

What is osteoarthritis?

Answer 2

The cartilage around the joint wears out and causes the bones in the joint to rub against each other, creating inflammation and pain.

Question 3

What can osteoarthritis of the spine lead to?

Answer 3

Osteoarthritis of the spine can lead to lost flexibility, bone spurs (osteophytes), irritated nerves, back pain or spinal stenosis, and sciatica symptoms.

Question 4

What are other terms used to describe osteoarthritis?

Answer 4

Sometimes the terms spondylosis or degenerative joint disease are used interchangeablely with osteoarthritis.

Question 5

What are common causes of spinal arthritis?

Answer 5

Repetitive trauma to the spine from repetitive strains caused by accidents, surgery, sports injuries, poor posture, or work-related activities are common causes of spinal arthritis.

Question 6

What are symptoms of osteoarthritis?

Answer 6

Primarily pain and stiffness in the joints.
Swelling and warmth
Localized tenderness
Steady or intermittent joint pain
Loss of flexibility in the joint
A crunching feeling or sound of bone known as crepitus
An abnormal curve in the spine
A sensation of pinching, tingling or numbness in the nerve

Question 7

What are conservative treatments of osteoarthritis?

Answer 7

While there is currently no proven treatment to stop or slow the progression of osteoarthritis in the spine, there are treatments to alleviate the pain and other associated symptoms, and for most people the condition will not become debilitating. Medication is typically used to reduce the inflammation, which in turn reduces the pain and stiffness.

Question 8

What are surgical treatments for osteoarthritis?

Answer 8

The only effective surgical treatment is spine fusion surgery to stop the motion at the painful joint.

Question 9

What is degenerative disc disease?

Answer 9

DDD a weaking of veterbral discs that normally act as a cushion between the vertebra. Can develop through the natural aging process or from injury to the back. Begins when small tears form in the disc wall. As they weaken they lose water content and begin to collapse. This can lead to herniations as well as putting the facet joints in an unnatural alignment leading to bone spurs. If the spurs grow into the neural foramen a condition can result called spinal stenosis.

Degenerative disc disease refers to a condition in which pain is caused from a damaged disc.

Question 10

What are symptoms of degenerative disc disease?

Answer 10

Pain, numbness or tingling in the legs
Strong pain tends to come and go
Bending, twisting and sitting may worsen pain
Lying down relieves pressure and pain

Question 11

What are the causes of degenerative disc disease?

Answer 11

The drying out of the disc. When we are born, the disc is about 80% water. As we age, the disc dries out and doesn’t absorb shocks as well

Daily activities and sports cause tears in the outer core of the disc. By the age of 60, most people have some degree of disc degeneration. Not everyone at that age has back pain, however.

Injuries, which can cause swelling, soreness and instability. This can result in low back pain.

Question 12

How do you diagnosis degenerative disc disease?

Answer 12

A diagnosis is based on a medical history and a physical examination, as well as the symptoms and the circumstances where the pain started. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan) can show damage to discs, but it alone cannot confirm degenerative disc disease.

Question 13

What are the surgical treatments for degenerative disc disease?

Answer 13

Artificial disc replacement
Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
Posterior lumbar interbody fusion 
Transforminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Question 14

What is Fibromyalgia?

Answer 14

Fibromyalgia is a chronic myofascial (muscular) pain syndrome that typically causes generalized back pain and muscle pain and causes specific areas of the body to become tender to the touch.

Question 15

What is a herniated disc?

Answer 15

When the soft inner gel of the disc pushes through the outer disc wall and into the spinal canal putting pressure on the nerve roots leading to radiating pain in the arms and legs.

Question 16

What are lumbar herniated disc symptoms?

Answer 16

Leg pain (sciatica)
Numbness, weakness and/or tingling in the leg
Lower back pain and/or pain in the buttock
Loss of bladder or bowel control (rare), which may be an indication of a serious medical condition called cauda equina syndrome

Question 17

What are surgical options for a lumbar herniated disc?

Answer 17

Lumbar decompression surgery. Often a microdiscectomy is used to treat nerve compression from a herniated disc.

Question 18

What are surgical options for a cervical herniated disc?

Answer 18

ACDF: Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Posterior Cervical Decompression (Microdiscectomy) Surgery.

Question 19

What is osteoporosis?

Answer 19

Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become weak and are more likely to break. Osteoporosis is a disease caused principally by the significant loss of bone mineral density (BMD)

Question 20

What are surgical treatments for osteoporosis?

Answer 20

Kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty

Question 21

What are symptoms of osteoporosis?

Answer 21

Sudden onset of back pain
Standing or walking makes pain worse
Lying on back makes pain less intense
Limited spine mobility
Height loss
Deformity and disability

Question 22

What is Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction?

Answer 22

Connecting the triangular bone at the bottom of the spine (the sacrum) with the pelvis, the sacroiliac joint may be a source of pain if its normal motion is disturbed.

Question 23

What are treatments for Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction?

Answer 23

Medications
Chiropractic manipulations 
Support or braces
Physical therapy and exercise
Sacroiliac joint injections

Question 24

What is Sciatica?

Answer 24

Sciatica is a term used to describe the symptoms of leg pain and possibly tingling, numbness or weakness that travels down the low back down via the sciatic nerve in the back of the leg. Sciatica (sometimes known as radiculopathy) is a description of symptoms, not a diagnosis

Question 25

What can cause Sciatica?

Answer 25

A herniated disc, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and spondylolisthesis can all cause sciatica

Question 26

How do you surgically treat Sciatica due to a lumber disc herniation?

Answer 26

In cases where the sciatica pain is due to a lumbar disc herniation, a microdiscectomy or small open surgery with magnification may be considered. In this surgery, the portion of the herniated disc that is pinching the nerve is removed.

Question 27

How do you surgically treat Sciatica due to lumbar spinal stenosis?

Answer 27

In cases where the sciatica pain is due to lumbar spinal stenosis, a lumbar laminectomy may be recommended. In this surgery, the small portion of the bone and/or disc material that is pinching the nerve root is removed.

Question 28

What is Scoliosis?

Answer 28

Scoliosis describes an abnormal, side-to-side, curvature of the spine.

Question 29

What are the two most common forms of scoliosis?

Answer 29

Degenerative scoliosis and idiopathic scoliosis (adolescent)

Question 30

When is surgery for scoliosis recommended?

Answer 30

Surgery for adolescents with scoliosis is only recommended when their curves are greater than 40 to 45 degrees and continuing to progress, and for most patients with curves that are greater than 50 degrees.

Question 31

What are the two types of surgical procedures performed to correct scoliosis?

Answer 31

Scoliosis Surgery from the Back (Posterior Surgical Approach) and
Scoliosis Surgery from the Front (Anterior Surgical Approach)

Question 32

What are spinal deformities?

Answer 32

Spine Deformity can happen when unnatural curvature occurs, as in scoliosis (side-to-side curvature) or kyphosis and Scheuermann’s disease (front-to-back curvature). It also occurs due to defect (as in spondylolisthesis) or damage to the spine (if there are multiple fractures or ankylosing spondylitis).

Question 33

What is Kyphosis?

Answer 33

Unnatural curving of the spine caused by disease or damage to the vertebra.

Question 34

What causes Kyphosis?

Answer 34

Bad posture can loosen the spines ligaments
Disease or damage to the bones can weaken and collapse the spine. These include Osteoporosis, Scheuermann’s disease, Potts disease and spinal tumors.

Question 35

What are the symptoms of Kyphosis?

Answer 35

Often times only a slight hump in the upper back. If the Kyphosis is severe they may have aches in the neck and lower back.

Question 36

How is Kyphosis diagnosed?

Answer 36

A physician would need an x ray

Question 37

How do you treat Kyphosis?

Answer 37

Most patients with Kyphosis don’t need treatment.

Increase calcium intake and weight bearing exercises to strengthen bones.

An orthopedic brace can prevent further curvature in growing children.

In rare cases spinal fusion can straighten and stabilize the spine.

Question 38

What is spinal stenosis?

Answer 38

The narrowing of passageways throughout the spine that can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves.

Question 39

What are symptoms of lumbar stenosis?

Answer 39

Symptoms of lumbar stenosis often include leg pain (sciatica) with walking as well as tingling, weakness or numbness in the legs.

Question 40

What are symptoms of cervical stenosis?

Answer 40

Arm pain. Cervical stenosis can also lead to myelopathy causing difficulty with coordination.

Question 41

What are surgical treatments of spinal stenosis?

Answer 41

Decompression surgery either a microdiscectomy or a laminectomy.

Question 42

What is a spinal tumor?

Answer 42

Cancer can affect the spine and its components by a number of types of spinal tumors. Most tumors in the spine are metastatic - they spread from another part of the body into the spinal region and cause pain.

Question 43

What do spinal tumors cause?

Answer 43

Tumors in the spinal column may cause back pain from expansion of the bone or from weakening the bone, which in turn can result in spinal fractures, compression (pinching) of the nerves, or spinal instability.

Question 44

Symptoms of a spinal tumor?

Answer 44

Pain in the neck or back followed by neurological problems such as weakness or numbness and change in bowel or bladder habits.
Spine pain is worse in the morning
Pain is severe when there is direct manipulation
Pain does not diminish with rest
Back pain along with constitutional symptoms such as loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, fever, chills or shakes

Question 45

What type of surgery is performed for a spinal tumor?

Answer 45

Removal of the tumor.

Question 46

What is Spondylolisthesis?

Answer 46

Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which one vertebra slip forward over the one below it. Spondylolisthesis is a fairly common cause of lower back pain and leg pain in younger adults (e.g. age 30 to 50), and degenerative spondylolisthesis is a fairly common cause of pain in older adults (e.g. age 50 and up).

Question 47

What are symptoms of Spondylolisthesis?

Answer 47

The most common symptoms are lower back pain and/or leg pain that limits a person’s activity level.

Question 48

What is Isthmic Spondylolisthesis?

Answer 48

The spine condition called isthmic spondylolisthesis occurs when one vertebral body slips forward on the one below it because of a small fracture in a piece of bone that connects the two joints on the back side of the spinal segment. The fracture in this small piece of bone, called the pars interarticularis, is caused by stress to the bone. It is common among young athletes.

Question 49

Where is Isthmic Spondylolisthesis most common?

Answer 49

L5 S1

Question 50

How is spondyloistheses graded?

Answer 50

On a scale from 1 to 4 measuring how far forward one disc has slipped on another.

Question 51

What type of surgery is performed to treat spondyloistheses?

Answer 51

A lumbar spinal fusion.

A posterior fusion with pedicle screw instrumentation is generally considered the gold standard form of lumbar spinal fusion. The surgeon may also recommend a spinal fusion done from the front of the spine at the same time. The type of spinal fusion that is recommended by a surgeon is based largely on a surgeon’s preference and experience, as well as the patient’s clinical situation.