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Author: BlueGuys

30Aug

Life can be a pain in the neck. That may be an old phrase, but there’s a lot of truth to it.

Neck pain happens to many people and for many different reasons. It’s annoying  and makes life a lot more difficult. The phrase “pain in the neck” dates back to around the turn of the century, so people have had this issue for quite a while. 

Unfortunately, getting rid of neck pain often means knowing why you have it. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most common causes of neck pain. Read on, and we’ll try our best to explain everything.

1. Posture or Sleeping Position

How we stand, sit, and sleep can affect a lot of things, and neck pain is one of them. In particular, craning your neck forward, such as when texting, surfing the internet or even reading a book, is a bad idea.

Keep in mind, we’re not telling you to stop doing these things, or even to cut back,but be aware of neck craning and try to avoid it in the future.

When it comes to sleeping, there could be a few different solutions. One such solution is to sleep on your back. Sleeping on your side can compress your spine and cause those annoying neck pains. 

You may also be using too many  or too few pillows, which can cause your neck to rest at an unnatural angle. You may want to consider investing in a memory foam pillow, which will support your neck without forcing it into an odd position.

2. Stress

It seems like every day, we find out that stress does something else to us. In this case, it can cause our muscles to grow taut, which makes it easier to strain them. If you’re the type who feels stressed and overwhelmed on a regular basis, your risk for stress-related injuries goes up.

The best advice for this is to calm down. Take a break whenever you feel the need to.

If frequent stress is a problem for you, one that’s disrupting your life significantly, we encourage you to see a counselor. They can teach you to help manage your symptoms and even refer you to a psychiatrist if they believe medication might help.

3. Carrying Too Much Weight

Don’t worry, this isn’t an entry about losing weight, although that can still be a health issue. It’s about literally carrying weight, like in the form of a purse or a backpack.

Carrying too much weight, and especially carrying it unevenly, causes our spines to bend and strain, which can lead to injury and discomfort. In terms of how to cure it, the only thing we can suggest is trying to distribute weight evenly, and cut down on it if you can.

4. Brachial Plexus Injury

The brachial plexus is a set of nerves that start in the neck and stretch down into the arms and hands. There are many potential causes of a brachial plexus injury, but the most common ones are motor vehicle accidents and sports injuries.

Having a brachial plexus injury is a bit like having a broken arm. It hurts or feels numb, and you may not be able to move it. In most cases, these injuries will heal naturally in a few months or less.

If they don’t, you should seek medical attention, because your condition may require surgery.

5. Whiplash

Whiplash has some of the same causes as a Brachial Plexus injury, and a few of the symptoms may be similar. However, a person with whiplash may also suffer from headaches, pain in the lower back, dizziness, tinnitus, and other symptoms besides.

Treatments for whiplash are often simplistic. They include pain pills, ice packs, physical therapy and home-based or outpatient procedures. Symptoms will often disappear within a month.

6. Pinched Nerve

In the neck, a pinched nerve will feel a lot like a brachial plexus injury and can be caused by many of the same things. However, a pinched nerve can also be the result of being overweight.

The big difference is that a pinched nerve usually disappears within several days. They also can be alleviated, to an extent, by home remedies such as ice packs.

7. Slipped Disk

Often caused by age, this condition occurs when one of the cushioned discs between vertebrae becomes prolapsed. This means that the bones in your spine are not as well protected, which results in pain during daily activities, often on one side of the body. You may also suffer tingling and muscle weakness.

Though age is one of the causes, it isn’t the only possible cause. You can also suffer a slipped disc from excessive muscle strain or being overweight.

Slipped discs need to be diagnosed by a doctor. This will often require a discogram, but can usually be treated non-surgically using painkillers and regular mild exercise. 

8. Headaches

Certain types of headaches can have neck pain and stiffness as a symptom, including migraines. If this is the case, it should go away when the headache does.

Most headaches, even migraines, can be treated with home care and painkillers. If you suffer from migraines, you should also consider therapy for help in reducing stress.

9. Age

Aging makes us more susceptible to neck pain and medical conditions that can cause them. One such condition is arthritis.

In most cases, nothing can cure these conditions, but consulting with a doctor may help you find ways to cope with them or even slow their progression.

10. Sprains, Strains and the Unexplained

Like it or not, there’s not always an obvious explanation for pain. It may be something as simple as a sprain or strain, or some other mild, short-lived ache.

Our bodies are weird, and they sometimes do things we can’t explain. Unless sprains and strains are happening a lot, there’s no need to see a doctor.

Causes of Neck Pain

There are many potential causes of neck pain. Some come from sports injuries, being overweight, or car accidents. In some cases, you could just have poor posture or be too stressed out. It may even be the result of age or some random pain that comes and goes with no explanation.

That’s only a few explanations. If you want to know more, we encourage you to do research on your own.

The best advice we can give is to try to stay healthy and active, and to see a doctor if something feels wrong. 

30Aug

Are you experiencing neck or lower back pain but you don’t know where it’s coming from? Maybe you’re less active lately, causing more discomfort and pain. If you’re wondering whether or not these symptoms are related to spinal stenosis, you’re in the right place.

What Is Spinal Stenosis?

This condition is known as a narrowing of the spaces within your spine. In other words, it affects the spinal cord and spinal column. When this narrowing happens, it allows for pressure on the nerves that travel through your spine. 

What Causes Spinal Stenosis?

Symptoms of osteoarthritis are one of the most common causes of spinal stenosis. The wear and tear on your bones and joints can cause the narrowing of your spinal column which results in worsening symptoms over time.

Some other causes include the following: 

Spinal Injuries

If you’ve ever been involved in a traumatic car accident, you may be at risk for this degenerative condition. Dislocations or fractures to vertebrae or displaced bone can damage the spinal canal. Likewise, recent back surgery can cause swelling that puts pressure on those nerves.

Bone Overgrowth

Another condition known as Paget’s disease is a bone disease that generally affects adults. It can cause bone overgrowth in the spine. Other wear and tear may also prompt the formation of bone spurs that grow into the spinal canal.

Herniated Disks

The disks in your vertebrae serve as cushions and shock absorbers in your spine. Age can cause these disks to dry out and crack which can allow the soft inner material to escape. This material then puts pressure on your spinal cord or other nerves.

Tumors

Although uncommon, tumors can form inside the spinal cord and in the space between the spinal cord and your vertebrae. 

Thickened Ligaments

As you age, your ligaments may become stiff, thick, tough, or thick. Ligaments close to your spine may bulge into the spinal canal causing pressure. 

Types of Spinal Stenosis

The types of this condition are classified according to where they affect you. It is possible to have more than one type. It is not common to have a diagnosis for your middle or upper back.

Cervical Stenosis

Cervical stenosis affects the cervical spine and may also be referred to as cervical spinal stenosis. Your cervical spine is in your neck and pain may radiate into your shoulders and upper back.

Lumbar Stenosis

The most common type of spinal stenosis occurs in the lower back. This is known as lumbar stenosis.

Symptoms

Some people never experience symptoms but may show evidence of the condition via MRI or CT scans. 

For cervical stenosis, look out for numbness or tingling in your hands, arms, feet, or legs. Also be aware of weakness in these areas. Balance and walking may also be impeded.

Severe cases of cervical stenosis may prompt urinary urgency and incontinence or bowel problems.

Numbness, tingling, or weakness in the feet or legs and pain or cramping after standing for long periods may be indications of lumbar spine stenosis or lower back. 

Complications 

In rare cases and without treatment, severe spinal stenosis can progress and cause permanent damage such as numbness, weakness, and balance problems. Incontinence and paralysis are also attributable to the long term effects of this disease when left untreated.

Treatment 

Depending on the severity of your case, your doctor may prescribe various treatments to help with the pain and other symptoms.

Medications

Regular pain relievers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and naproxen may help with pain. These are generally reserved for short term use.

Some antidepressants and anti-seizure medications are also helpful for pain.

Physical Therapy

Especially if you have become less active due to your pain, your muscles are at a disadvantage for becoming weaker. This may cause even more pain. 

A physical therapist can teach you specific exercises that can help you maintain flexibility and build strength and endurance.

Steroid Injections

Steroid injections can help reduce inflammation and relieve some pain. This may not work for everyone and your doctor will only prescribe a few injections per year.

Decompression

In order to alleviate the need for surgery, if at all possible, your doctor may perform a decompression procedure. This procedure uses needle-like instruments to remove thickened ligaments around the spinal cord. This method of treatment is only reserved for those with spinal stenosis related to thickened ligaments.

Surgery

As a last resort, your doctor may recommend spinal stenosis surgery. There are a few different options when it gets to this level so it’s important to have a lengthy conversation with your doctor about which option is best for your condition.

Home Remedies

Whether you have been officially diagnosed or you match some of the symptoms listed here, you need to get regular exercise. Yoga is a beneficial practice because it’s easy on your joints and teaches regular breathing which can help minimize pain.

You may also consider massage therapy, chiropractic treatment, and acupuncture as alternative remedies to medication and surgery. 

Final Thoughts

Spinal stenosis generally affects women more prominently than men. While it can be a congenital disease, it is more likely to onset in people over age fifty. Younger people that experience spinal stenosis may have degenerative changes that require the attention of a physician.

Your doctor can give you a proper diagnosis by performing an MRI or CT scan. Spinal imaging can differentiate the causes of your pain which can also include trauma, spinal deformity, and genetic diseases that affect bone and muscle development.

If you have questions or require a consult, contact us at one of our convenient locations across New Jersey. We have been leaders in pain management for 15 years and look forward to helping you. 

30Aug

From headaches to foot pain, it’s only human to experience pain from time to time. However, chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts 3-6 months or longer in some cases.

Pain experienced on a day to day basis is often deep-rooted in more serious conditions which require medical attention and the earlier they’re treated, the better.

Check out six common signs that it’s time to ditch the over-the-counter medication and finally see a pain management doctor. 

Time to See a Pain Management Doctor

  1. You’re struggling to perform everyday tasks

Your day to day can be stressful enough, so pain brought on by doing simple tasks such as reaching in a high cabinet or opening a door shouldn’t add to it. While it’s not uncommon for an injury or pain to flare up and cause these struggles, if they’re lasting for an extended period of time it is certainly something to take note of.

  1. You’re experiencing radiating pain

Once the pain you’re experiencing begins to radiate throughout a limb or part of your body, it’s definitely a sign to see a pain management specialist. In addition to the radiating pain feeling, look out for numbness, tingling, and other similar sensations. These feelings are often associated with pinched nerves, the slipping of discs, and other serious conditions that need medical attention.

  1. You’re having trouble sleeping due to the pain

If your pain is keeping you up through the night, it’s definitely time to see a pain management doctor. Your body needs that time to rest, and if pain is getting in the way, it will begin to affect even more aspects of your health. 

  1. Over-the-counter medication isn’t working

While pain relievers are okay in small quantities, they won’t solve the cause of your pain and therefore you’re only delaying your recovery process. Also, even over the counter medications can cause serious health conditions if taken for prolonged periods. Our team’s procedures and expertise work to reduce patients’ need for painkillers to allow them to live pain-free faster.

  1. The pain persists with a specific motion

Whether it’s bending over or walking up the stairs, our board-certified pain management doctors will perform a full-body examination in order to pinpoint the root of your pain. From there, we’ll be able to utilize interventional pain management techniques to provide well-deserved relief.

  1. You’re no longer able to perform hobbies and activities you love

We all have hobbies and activities that make us who we are. Whether it is golf or gardening, these activities have both mental and physical benefits. When we stop activities we love, we lose a lot more than a pastime. Activity avoidance can lead to changes in your mood making the toll of chronic pain substantially worse. If you are struggling to get back in the game, our pain experts can help diagnose the problem and get you moving again!

29Aug

There are few forms of discomfort worse than back pain. This especially true of pain from the sacroiliac joint. This can be a sharp, stabbing pain that radiates up from the upper buttock out to the hips and down to the back of your thighs.

Sacroiliac pain can also be experienced as a tingling or numbness in the legs. Believe it or not, the SI joint is actually responsible for 15 to 30 percent of all cases of chronic lower back pain.

Where are the Sacroiliac Joints Located?

Here are the basics: The SI joint are located where your sacrum and ilium meet. The sacrum is a triangle-shaped bone at the bottom of the spine The ilium is the uppermost point of your pelvis, and is one of the three bones that form your hip bones. These joints are essentially located in your upper buttock; there is one on each side.

The purpose of the SI joints is to act as a shock absorber to support the weight of your body by distributing it evenly across the pelvis and reduce pressure on the spine. These joints are where your upper body meet your lower body. It is meant to be very stable joint; in anatomic studies it has only minor movement. To add to stability these joints are connected by muscles and ligaments that support the area further reducing its mobility.

What’s the Source of SI Joint Pain?

Ankylosing Spondylitis

This is a type of inflammatory arthritis that generally impacts the vertebrae and joints of the spine.

Anklylosing spondylitis not only affects SI joints, it’s also known to cause painful inflammation in a number of other joints, as well as pain in the eyes and organs of the body.

Pain resulting from AS is typically mild and intermittent, yet is sometimes quite severe and ongoing.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is most often associated with aging. It is caused by the wearing down of cartilage in the SI joint, spine, and other joints.

Pregnancy

Sacroiliac pain can also be caused by significant bodily changes such as pregnancy, when hormones are released making the SI joints more elastic. This is necessary so that the pelvis can widen during childbirth.

But this also makes joints less stable. Thus combined with increased weight and the added weight of the baby, the mother will experience severe lower back pain. This often will resolve with child birth, however for some patients this pain does not go away due to instability in the joint.

Abnormal Walking Patterns

People who have developed abnormal walking patterns are often prone to joint dysfunction in the lower back. In many cases this is caused by such irregularities as having one leg shorter than the other, as well as from a change in walking pattern during pregnancy.

Physical Trauma and Injury

Sacroiliac pain can also be caused by any form of physical injury. This could result from car accidents, falls, a wide range of sports injury, as well as any type of severe physical trauma that might not become apparent for day or weeks later following the traumatic event.

Previous Lumbar Spine Surgery/Fusions

After patient’s have had spine surgery, especially lumbar fusions, the normal body mechanics change. Often the hardware that is placed is much stronger than the normal bones. Due to this, the force is transmitted to the area below the fusion. The final stop is the SI joint. This pressure often will cause the joint to undergo additional wear and tear as well as increased instability causing pain.

The Symptoms of Sacroiliac Pain

Although every individual is different, and experiences sacroiliac pain somewhat differently, there are some universal symptoms to watch for:

These include pain in the lower back radiating down the back of the thighs typically stopping at the knee however sometimes it does go down to the feet. Other symptoms are increased pain when standing up from a sitting position (like getting off the toilet or out of a car low to the ground) or pain in the lower back while driving.

Another symptom that might point to sacroiliac joint pain is the feeling like your legs may buckle and not support the weight of your body, as well as stiffness or a burning sensation in the pelvis.

Diagnosing the Problem

Due to the fact that the sacroiliac joint is located deep inside the body, it can be challenging for a doctor to examine. It’s also difficult to detect damage to these joints with imaging tests such as X-rays or CT scans.

There are some physical exam maneuvers which can clue in your physician that the SI joint is an issue.

The most precise method to diagnose this problem  often requires a doctor to inject a numbing drug, such as lidocaine. If this injection makes the pain go away in a short amount of time, it’s an indication that you do indeed have an SI joint problem.

Treating Sacroiliac Pain

There are a wide variety of treatments for this form of pain, ranging from self-care and physical therapy, to surgery:

Physical Therapy and Exercise

Low-impact exercise such as yoga is ideal for alleviating lower back pain. Massage is often effective at easing pain, and helps to strengthen and stabilize the joints of the lower back area.

Physical therapy can also be useful, as well as wearing a sacroiliac belt that helps ease the pain by support the SI joint.

Medication

There are a number of anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers that can be used for short-term pain relief. But these should not be considered long-term options due to the risk of addiction, and because they simply do not fix the problem.

Injections

Simple injections can often provide intermediate to long term relief from SI joint pain. These injections include numbing medicine and anti-inflammatory steroids. Another injection that can make the pain relief last longer is a radiofrequency ablation where the nerves transmitting the pain from the SI joint are destroyed via special needles. There is no incisions for these type of procedures.

SI Fusion with the Corner Loc System

Lastly, a permanent fix for SI joint pain is treatment with the revolutionary Corner Loc system. This minimally invasive procedure introduced cadaver bone graft into the SI joint through a straw like instrument. This graft is then then surrounded with your own stem cells and bone marrow. The graft acts as scaffolding for your own bone to grow around it eliminating SI joint instability. This is better than other SI fusion systems which use rods and screws which is riskier, move invasive, and can lead to more issues.