Back Pain Surgery

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION REMINDER

SIGN-UP TODAY & SAVE!

PLEASE JOIN US for Indiana Spine Group's 4th annual continuing medical education  symposium, Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Disorders and Abnormalities.

Back pain continues to be one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care. According to the North American Spine Society, one out of three Americans suffers from back pain. This conference is ideal for physicians and health care practitioners to help them effectively care for their patients with back and neck pain and disorders.  

Back Talk will provide the latest information for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders, injuries and abnormalities.

 

Early bird registration through July 30.

Register today and save $20!

Date:  September 10 and 11, 2010

Location:  The Westin Indianapolis | 50 S. Capitol Avenue | Indianapolis, IN  46204

For more information or to receive a conference brochure, call (317) 228-7000 or visit the links below:

• Registration Form
• Conference Brochure
• Accreditation

Saturday’s continuing medical education sessions will include three concurrent sessions with nine different topics for conference attendees to choose from.  This blog entry will highlight those sessions available in “Concurrent Sessions Three” that will be on Saturday morning (9/11/10). 

These sessions will include:

The Anatomy of the Exam - This is a clinical workshop that will be co-presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and nurse practitioner Alta Skelton, RN, MSN, NP-C.  This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the patient exam and will utilize a live-model to demonstrate the critical components of the physical exam.  What is normal and abnormal during the cervical and lumbar exam will be discussed, as well as a review of the neurological exam.  Additionally, this session will also discuss multiple problems that present as back or should/neck pain and will review clinical algorithms. 

Active and Injured | A Look at Sports Injuries – This session, presented by chiropractic physician Tony Origer, DC, ATC, will highlight common sports injuries related to popular recreational activities of adults, e.g. golf, tennis, weights/fitness training and running.  This continuing medical education session will review the anatomical and physiologic functional changes of the spine that result with aging, and the effects of sports on the spine.  Additionally, the patient assessment of patients that present with spinal pain and injuries from sports-related activities will be discussed, as well as appropriate levels of care and red-flags. 

(Tony Origer, DC, ATC, is a chiropractic physician with Performance Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation.)
 

The Workplace | Back Pain and Injuries |  This continuing medical education concurrent session will be presented by Marc Duerden, MD, FAAPM&R, CIME.  Dr. Duerden is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician with Rehabilitation Associates of Indiana. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is projected that annually more than one million workers injure their back representing one out of five work place injuries.  During this session Dr. Duerden will review common workplace spinal injuries and their contributing factors to back pain.  Additionally, the short- and long-term effects on the worker’s status will be reviewed.  Spinal conditions and physical attributes that predispose an individual to back injuries will be discussed as well as the indications and treatment options for low back pain.  

For more information about Back Talk, or to register click here, or call (317) 228-7000.

The Nutritionally Healthy Spine – This continuing medical education session, presented by Lori Petrie, RD, will continue to focus on a healthy spine and the importance of nutrition in achieving and maintaining a healthy spine. This session will provide important nutritional recommendations for a healthy spine.  In addition to diet and lifestyle other factors that will be addressed for a healthy spine will include popular over-the-count medications, and a review of herbal, vitamin and nutritional supplements. Ms. Petrie is an outpatient nutritional counselor with St.Vincent Hospital.

Back Pain | Chronic and Failed – It is estimated that approximately 40% of individuals that undergo back surgery continue to have back pain.  Jonathan Gentile, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group will address this ongoing issue.  In this educational session he will address both chronic back pain and failed back syndrome and will discuss the differentiation factors, and the diagnostic perils.  Additionally, Dr. Gentile will discuss the treatment options, indications and patient selection for various treatment options.  One treatment option that will be highlighted will included the spinal cord stimulator, used as an option for failed back syndrome. 

For more information about Back Talk, visit our web site, or call (317) 228-7000.

One general session that will be given at Back Talk, Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education symposium, is entitled Making the Diagnosis| Differential Factors in Spinal Diagnosis. This presentation will be given by neurosurgical spine surgeon Kenneth Renkens, MD, FACS.

During this presentation, Dr. Kenneth Renkens will discuss the differential diagnoses of lower back and extremity pain. The importance of identifying coexisting conditions affecting spinal pain and treatment will be reviewed. Additionally, Dr. Renkens will discuss spinal infections and inflammations that present as back pain neck pain.  

Recently Rick Sasso, M.D., a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group,
co-authored a book chapter for a medical textbook. This chapter was titled “Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion.”  Anterior lumbar interbody fusion, usually referred to as ALIF, is a spine surgical procedure commonly used to treat discogenic low back pain - when non-operative measures are ineffective.

In this chapter, the historical background of anterior lumbar interbody fusion was reviewed. This spine surgery procedure was used as early as 1932 for the treatment of spondylolisthesis. Additionally, this chapter reviewed the biomechanics, patient selection, clinical studies, and imaging. To read this chapter, click here

Exercise is not only beneficial for cardiovascular health, or to stay in shape or lose weight, exercise is critical to your spine health. Research has shown that individuals who exercise routinely are less likely to have back pain. Additionally, those that exercise recover more quickly if they do injure their back. When selecting an exercise program it should contain three components: strengthening, stretching and cardiovascular activities. For a spine wellness tip sheet with exercises for your back, click here.

Spine Wellness Tip #3 – Get Moving – Exercise! 

Planning continues for Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Diagnosis and Abnormalities, Indiana Spine Group’s 4^th annual spine symposium. For this year’s conference there will be two educational tracks. One track will provide more general information and one in-depth. These tracks will be held the morning of day one. 

The general track is entitled: Spinal Care Boot Camp | Diagnostics and Treatment. There will be a session on spinal anatomy, entitled Spinal Anatomy 101, presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD.  During this session, Dr. Macadaeg will discuss the functional anatomy of the spine, normal aging process, the spine’s degenerative cascading process and normal and abnormal spinal anatomy.

Another general session which will be presented by minimally invasive spine specialist John Arbuckle, MD, The ABCs of Spinal Diagnostics. In this session, the etiology of spinal pain and common spinal disorders that cause back pain will be reviewed. Additionally, Dr. Arbuckle will discuss the indications and applications of spinal testing, evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis of lower back and neck pain, and he will highlight the red flags of spinal pain. 

Two other sessions in this track include Understanding Spinal Therapeutics and The Spine Surgery Patient. In the spinal therapeutics session, presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Jonathan Gentile, MD, he will discuss the pharmacological management of acute and chronic back pain, review common noninvasive and minimally invasive spinal therapies and their indications. Spine surgeon Paul Kraemer, MD, will discuss the spine surgery patient and will provide an overview of common spine surgery procedures, their indications and expected outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Kraemer will discuss the applications and limitations of spine surgery, and when referral to a spine surgeon is indicated. 

For a complete Back Talk agenda, link here. 

The next series of blog entries will focus on a few spine wellness tips.  Simple solutions that provide health benefits to your spine. 

One popular New Year’s resolution is to go on a diet and lose weight.  Losing weight provides many health and wellness benefits, including spine wellness.  Did you know that obesity is one contributing factor to back pain? 

Spine Wellness Tip #1: Drop Some Pounds 

The last few spine wellness blog entries have discussed the effects of smoking and the spine.  For example smoking can increase your risk for lower back pain, increasing healing time following spine surgery and increase your risk for osteoporosis. 

For a spine wellness fact sheet about smoking and your spine's wellness, click here.

A prior spine wellness blog entry highlighted the Great American Smokeout, held on November 19.  This spine wellness blog entry will address smoking and your spine.  Usually when you think about the health effects of smoking – you think about cancer and heart disease.  But smoking also affects your spine wellness and as a recent study indicated, can contribute to lower back pain.

Study results published on Spine-Health.com indicated that there is a link between smoking and lower back pain.  The study concluded that the development of lower back pain was linked to smoking history and hypertension.  Additionally, the development of lumbar spondylosis was also associated with smoking history and hypertension.

This spine wellness blog entry highlights, WebMD's tips for avoiding back pain: 

ü      Standing:  Keep your head and stomach pulled in.

ü      Sleeping:  Use a mattress with enough spine support.  If your mattress is too soft or too hard – it may result in back pain.

ü      Lifting:  Use proper lifting techniques.  Do not stoop over; lift with your knees and keep the object close to you. 

When an individual continues to have chronic back pain and/or leg pain following back surgery; it is referred to as failed back syndrome. A few treatments for this can include physical therapy or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID). If medical management is ineffective another treatment option available is a spinal cord stimulator.

A spinal cord stimulator is an implantable device that uses an electrical current to provide a tingling sensation that helps to mask the chronic pain. Dr. Gentile describes it as “a kind of pacemaker for pain.”

In this video, Dr. Gentile describes the procedure for implanting a spinal cord stimulator. Dr. Jonathan Gentile is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group.

This procedure is available at Indiana Spine Group. For more information, call 317.228.7000 or toll-free 866.947.7463.

Learn more about spinal / back pain with this education video. This video features Dr. John Arbuckle as he discusses back pain; including the definition, diagnosis and early treatment.  Dr. Arbuckle is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. 

Generally when a patient’s spinal pain is longer than four to six weeks, and the pain is not relieved with the passage of time, anti-inflammatory medications or even physical therapy – a minimally invasive spine specialist will see the individual to evaluate the cause of this pain. 

Minimally invasive spine specialists with Indiana Spine Group include John Arbuckle, M.D., Jonathan Gentile, M.D., and Kevin Macadaeg, M.D. 

In the movie Princess Dairies there is a scene where Mia, played by Anne Hathaway, is practicing good posture with a book on her head and walking across the room. 
Although books are not required, good posture is important in preventing lower back pain. 

This spine wellness tip will highlight how to evaluate your posture. 

1. Stand with your heels against the wall.
2. Your head, shoulders, calves and buttocks should be touching the wall. (Once you do this, you should be able to place your hand behind the small of your back).
3. Now, take a step forward – this is how your posture should be.

Fall is a time for crisp cool air, football games, and the time to rake leaves. As you begin to get the outside of your house ready for winter, and do your “fall” outside chores, remember a few safety tips to prevent back pain and back injuries. This spine wellness blog entry will provide a few key tips. For a spine wellness fact sheet on preventing back injuries wile working outside click here.
 

Raking

• Stretch before you begin – raking should be viewed as exercise.
• Utilize proper body mechanics.
• Avoid twisting, and keep your back upright.
• To avoid overreaching, step side to side to move your legs instead of just moving your arms. 

 Lifting

When moving your flower pots and patio furniture remember to:

• Use proper body mechanics when lifting – squat down and use your legs to rise instead of bending over.
• Use hooks, straps or pulleys for heavy loads. 
• Do not twist while lifting. 

Another session at Back Talk, the continuing medical education symposium for physicians and health care practitioners will address the failed back. Sometimes called failed back syndrome, failed back surgery or post-laminectomy syndrome – these patients continue to have ongoing back pain following spine surgery. 

This session will be presented by minimally invasive spine specialists Jonathan Gentile, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD, and spine surgeon Paul Kraemer, MD. With Indiana Spine Group, these physicians treat patients at our offices located on the north side of Indianapolis. 

During this continuing medical education session, the tools for physicians and health care practitioners to perform a diagnostic assessment of patients with chronic back pain following spine surgery will be highlighted. This diagnostic assessment will help caregivers to understand the underlying causes of ongoing back pain, and the mechanism of failed back. Additionally, medical and interventional treatments for failed back will be discussed – their indications and expected outcomes.

Many times, when people have chronic lower back pain – they experience a greater level of depression than individuals without chronic back pain. This continuing medical education session at “Back Talk” will provide physicians and health care practitioners insight into learning to recognize and assess psychological risk factors of patients with acute and chronic back pain. 

During this session entitled "Psychological Barriers," Ricks Warren, PhD, ABPP, will identify psychological issues in patients with chronic back pain and malingering. Additionally, he will review the psychological barriers for effective treatment of acute and chronic spinal problems – and identify the warning signs and when referral to a metal health professional is indicated. 

Ricks Warren, PhD, ABPP joins the Back Talk continuing medical education  faculty from Michigan. Dr. Warren is a clinical lecturer and psychologist with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor.