Blog/ Daily Posts

Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral Neuropathy is a disorder caused from damage to the endings of the nerves. Peripheral Neuropathy is a symptom of an underlying disease or process and tested to find out the underlying cause.

Symptoms

Patients frequently report burning, itching, or shooting pain that often begins in the feet and gradually progresses to other areas.

Diagnosis and Treatments

EMG and nerve conduction testing performed by a trained physician can help rule out other causes of these symptoms and help plan for the best course of treatment. Our neurologists are trained in advanced EMG and nerve conduction testing and are well-versed in diagnosing and managing peripheral neuropathy.

Read More

Myelopathy

Myelopathy is a term used to describe dysfunction of the spinal cord. This most commonly occurs due to degenerative or aging changes in the spine.  Degenerative changes occur in everyone to varying degrees. Common radiologic signs of degenerative changes include enlargement of the joints, degradation of the disks and bone, bone spurs and even herniated disks. Most of the time these changes do not cause problems. However, in some patients these changes can cause significant narrowing of the spinal canal resulting in spinal stenosis. Stenosis can cause pressure on the spinal cord and cause spinal cord dysfunction or myelopathy. The spinal cord relays information from the brain to the rest of your body and myelopathy can interrupt these important neurological pathways causing discomfort.

Symptoms may include: 

Read More

Ulnar Neuropathy

Ulnar Neuropathy is a disorder that involves the ulnar nerve (one of the major nerves in the arm).  Ulnar neuropathy is usually due to entrapment in the elbow area, the region of the “funny bone”.  This entrapment may be spontaneous and related to thickening of adjacent ligaments and muscles. This can be related to a prior injury in the area with associated scar formation that leads to a delayed onset of the nerve compression often years after the injury “tardy ulnar palsy”.

Read More

Fitness Friday: How to Maintain a Healthy Back

Most of the time when one is experiencing back pain, they often stay sedentary all day, because they think being active or stretching will hurt them more rather than elevate their back pain. Here are some great stretches and exercises that will increase core strength to support a healthy back.

Read More

Foot Drop: Symptoms and Treatments

Foot drop is a term used to describe difficulty raising your foot upwards (dorsiflexion). This may be most noticeable when trying to walk as people with foot drop often complain of tripping and dragging their foot. Foot drop can be caused by a number of underlying neurological problems and should be evaluated by your physician.

Read More

Non-Invasive Treatment for Neck Pain

Cervical Steroid Injections

Our primary goal is to relieve patient’s pain, while taking the least invasive route. Often times when someone has neck pain, it is best to start with Cervical Epidural Steroid Injections. Cervical Epidural Steroid injections are often used to relieve pain in the neck, arms and shoulders. Neck pain is often caused by conditions like herniated discs, bulging discs, arthritis and spinal stenosis, which can cause compression and pinched nerves. To relieve pain associated with these, we often times recommend getting a series of three injections

Read More

Myths & Truths about Laser Spine Surgery

Laser Spine Surgery, Modern Day Snake Oil

Millions of people have back pain. In fact, to feel better, many people look to laser spine surgery, a technique some say can provide immediate relief – even when other options have failed. The advertisements are so convincing that it’s natural to wonder: Does laser spine surgery work?

In a future post we compare the myth of laser spine surgery verses the reality of MIS surgery.

Three myths we highlight are:

Read More

How to Avoid Neck Pain at Work

Have you ever arrived to work and before the hectic day has even begun you are already experiencing the nagging and far too familiar feeling of neck pain?

By: Jessica Beggs, DPT (Legacy Neurosurgery Physical Therapist)

There are many sources of neck pain but one that is commonly overlooked is body positioning throughout the work day. According to a recent study by Caio et al. neck pain is a common condition that can cause substantial disability and is of high prevalence with individuals who perform occupational activities while sitting and leaning.1 So, what type of employment fits that job description? This data is not limited to computer programmers and call centers but instead could be applied to nearly all job styles! When sitting, leaning forward is a position that the body sometimes naturally assumes especially when driving a car, using a phone, or working on a computer. It requires countless muscle fibers to recruit and a conscious effort to maintain upright posturing.

Read More

Congratulations to Dustin Johnson for his Playoff Opener Win

The Play by Play

Dustin Johnson is cool under pressure! Despite falling five shots behind Jordan Spieth after five holes Sunday in the Northern Trust, Johnson never panicked.

The seemingly insurmountable deficit was wiped clean in five holes, with Johnson making two birdies and Spieth finding water on the sixth hole for a double-bogey. Spieth, then making another bogey on the ninth. From the 11th on, Johnson out-dueled Spieth and won the opener of the FedExCup Playoffs with two great performances on the final hole.

On the 72nd hole, Johnson, facing a make-or-break situation, buried an 18-footer  for par to force a playoff, and then claimed the hardware on the first extra hole, when he unleashed the longest drive on the 18th all week — a 341-yarder that easily cleared the lake — and then struck a 60-degree wedge to 3 feet and made the putt to win.

Read More