Be the perfect patient? A good rule of thumb for establishing good questions and opening a health-conscious dialogue with your physician is to consider the future. Are you guilty of googling medical advice? Ask your doctor what sites they recommend for knowledgeable medical information. Is your problem turning chronic? Ask how to prevent a specific illness in the future. With a doctor, you can pick their brain about weight loss advice and personal health goals. It’s also acceptable to question the prescriptions you are given. Ask why you are taking a specific medication to learn its function, or even ask about the necessity of certain pills. Are there negative side effects? Perhaps they aren’t worth the risk to you. A common example of questioning medication is antibiotic use. If you are prescribed an antibiotic, ask if the treatment is necessary. Many times a physician will tell you it’s okay to take a wait-and-see approach and only fill the prescription if symptoms worsen or do not resolve within an allotted time period.
The most common cause of back pain ? When back pain is chronic (i.e. lasts three months or more and occurs frequently), there is likely a more serious underlying issue that needs to be addressed. A disc problem is one of the most common causes of chronic lower back pain in adults and usually appears as a herniated disc in the lumbar or is caused by a degenerative disc disease. When a lumbar disc herniates, the inner portion of the disc breaks through the tough outer portion causing severe pain in the lumbar spine. The pain is caused by irritation of the nerves in the back, usually as the herniated disc creates swelling in the nerve roots. A degenerative disc disease occurs when the invertebral discs in the back begin to dehydrate over time. This causes the discs to wear down and become more susceptible to injury. Too much force on dehydrated discs can tear, weaken and become painful, often leading to a herniation.
Only a small percentage (less than 10%) of patients with adult scoliosis will ever need surgery. However, if surgery is considered necessary, it is typically related to back and leg pain that interferes with activities of daily living. The most common corrective spinal surgery for the treatment of scoliosis is spinal fusion. During this procedure, the spine is fused to bone graft material to hold the spine in a straighter position. Fusion surgery may be incorporated into other procedure. This might include spinal decompression, stabilization, osteotomy or vertebral column resection to correct the deformity. In adults, most cases of scoliosis will never progress once the skeleton has matured. However, there are exceptions. The goal of scoliosis treatment for adults is to reduce any active pain, and restore physical function and balance to the body to prevent any future problems. Find even more info at Scoliosis Surgery.
Up to 90% of patients experience pain relief with Long Beach Lumbar Spinal Fusion. Pain is significantly reduced after this procedure. A Long Beach lumbar spinal fusion is a type of back surgery that can be done as an open, minimally invasive or mini-open procedure. The procedure combines two or more vertebrae through a welding-like process in order to reduce pain and increase stability in the spine. It is used to treat chronic neck and back pain that may radiate to the arms and legs. People who suffer conditions such as degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, fractures and spinal tumors in Long Beach typically make good candidates for the procedures. When possible, some spinal fusion surgeries can be done as outpatient procedures with minimal cutting and operating time—they are called minimally invasive spinal fusions. Depending on which vertebrae are causing pain and where potentially diseased discs are located, a fusion can be done on the thoracic (upper back) or lumbar spine (lower back). Long Beach spinal fusions prevent pain associated with movement by fusing together two or more vertebrae in the spine to prevent painful movement. The pieces are welded together using a bone graft, made from either a cadaver bone or taken from the patient. These grafts are commonly referred to as cages.
Those who enter into a SI joint rehabilitation program can usually return to running with minor modifications. The more severe the case is, the more modifications will have to be made and longer rest period a physician may recommend. Many runners can return to running immediately by making modifications, but others with more severe pain may need to rest and rehabilitate for a while. In the latter case, it’s important that athletes take time to recover so they aren’t doing permanent damage to their body. Usually, a rehabilitation protocol and possible intervention to treat underlying cause (biomechanics, physical attributes, muscle problems) will result in complete recovery and zero residual pain. Surgical intervention offers similar results for more severe cases. With minimally-invasive Sacroiliac Joint Fusion procedures, doctors have reported less post-surgical bleeding and bruising as well as a shorter operating time.
Long Beach Spine Surgery is often sought to treat spinal conditions including deformity in children and adult scoliosis, kyphosis and flatback. Dr. Yuan never recommends surgery first and guides you to many options for pain relief and quality of life. Dr. Yuan is a board certified Orthopedic Surgeon and fellowship trained spinal surgeon. He specializes in the treatment of all spinal disorders including issues with the neck and back. He treats conditions that affect the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine utilizing both surgical and non-surgical interventions. Dr. Yuan emphasizes non-surgical treatment first and only recommends surgical procedures when absolutely necessary to better a patient’s quality of life. See a few extra info on Spine surgery Long Beach.