We are excited to announce that the keynote speaker for Indiana Spine Group’s 4^th annual continuing medical education spine symposium Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in Spinal Disorders and Abnormalities is James McGreevy, M.D.  Dr. McGreevy is a trauma surgeon and Professor of Surgery at the University of Utah Medical Center and Chief of Surgery for the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center.  Additionally, he is a Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve and the Commander of the 419^th Medical Squadron.  In 2005 and 2007 Dr. McGreevy served in Operation Iraq Freedom in Balad, Iraq as a flight surgeon.

His talk, entitled The Front Lines | Reflections of Iraq, will give first-hand stories about the medical care provided at the Balad Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad Iraq.  This multispecialty trauma center is the U.S. military’s largest hospital in Iraq which treats soldiers, military personnel, civilians and sometimes insurgents.  During his talk, Dr. McGreevy will discuss the operations of the Balad Air Force Theater Hospital, describe the level of trauma care available to wounded civilians and military personnel and highlight the common occupational health hazards associated with fighter type operations in a deployed environment.

 For more information about Indiana Spine Group's continuing medical education symposium Back Talk, call (317) 228-7000 or visit Indiana Spine Group's web site. 

·         Understand the clinical algorithms to effectively diagnose and treat patients that present with back or neck pain. 

·         Discuss comprehensive evidence-based treatment options for the spine patient, from a non-operative and operative treatment prospective; including indications, applications and expected outcomes.

·         Identify common and uncommon spinal disorders; including spinal trauma, and discuss the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options. 

·         Address conditions and prevalent diagnoses that affect patients at specific life-stages.  Additionally, discuss intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting these diagnoses, as well as prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these spinal disorders.

·         Highlight new and emerging technologies for the treatment of spinal disorders and abnormalities; including the indications and potential benefits. 

If you were not able to attend Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education conference, Back Talk | Comprehensive Concepts in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Spinal Disorders -  educational sessions are now available on-line.

Educational Sessions include:

• The Fundamentals of Spinal Diagnostics | Kevin Macadaeg, MD
• Common Spinal Disorders | Paul Kraemer, MD
• The Uncommon and Difficult | Part One: Benign | Michael Stack, MD, PhD
• The Uncommon and Difficult | Part Two: Urgent | Kenneth Renkens, MD
• The Basics | Spinal Imaging | Thomas Reilly, MD
• Non-Operative Care: An Evidence-Based Overview | Jonathan Gentile, MD, and Jeff Hebert, DC, PhD (c)
• Minimally Invasive Spine Treatments | John Arbuckle, MD
• The Surgical Patient | Part One: Cervical | Rick Sasso, MD
• The Surgical Patient | Part Two: Lumbar | Kenneth Renkens, MD

To view these continuing education sessions, click here.  Additionally, if you would like to receive continuing medical education credits for viewing theses sessions, visit the St.Vincent Distance Education Site and view from there. Registration is free.

 
(A very special thank you to St.Vincent Spine Center for making these videos possible.) 

On September 11 and 12 2009, approximately 150 health care practitioners; including physicians, chiropractic physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners joined Indiana Spine Group at Back Talk.  This continuing medical education symposium provided comprehensive information on the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders, injuries and abnormalities.

Additionally, the keynote speaker paralympic medal winner Cheryl Angelelli, shared her story of turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones.  Conference attendees heard her story of how she overcame life’s challenges to attain her dream.  To learn more about Cheryl, visit her web site where a documentary about her story “Untold Dreams” can be purchased.  

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.

One out of five injuries in the work place are back injuries, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To help address this issue – this worker’s compensation presentation at Back Talk, will provide practitioners information to help them understand the maze of worker’s compensation as they treat patients with work-related back injuries. 

The speaker for this continuing medical education concurrent session is Effie Lewin, RN, CCM, CDMS, AIC. Effie is a medical case manager with Coventry Worker’s Comp Services. During her talk, she will provide a comprehensive review of the worker’s compensation claim process, the medical and claim documentation guidelines and the role of the case manager. Additionally, she will review case studies of on-the-job injuries, including the claim process and guidelines for the documentation of medical care. 

For more information about Back Talk, call (317) 228-7000. 

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. 

When individuals think of being healthy and wellness – they generally do not thing about spine health and wellness. This spine wellness session at Back Talk, Indiana Spine Group's continuing medical education conference, will focus on keeping a healthy spine. Presented by Adam Ebbert, PT, and Lori Petrie, RD, they will address factors that affect spinal health – both intrinsic and extrinsic. 

This session will address the assessment of patient lifestyles to determine recommended prevention and lifestyle habits that can help prevent spinal problems and improve spinal health. Additionally, health factors affecting the spine specific to various patient populations will be discussed. 

Adam Ebbert, PT, is the physical therapy coordinator with Indiana Spine Group and. Lori Petrie, RD, is a registered dietician with StVincent Hospital. 

The continuing medical education symposium sponsored by Indiana Spine Group, Back Talk, provides many continuing medical education and continuing education credits for physicians and health care practitioners. 

BACK TALK: Comprehensive Concepts in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Spinal Disorders provides continuing medical education / continuing education credits for the following:

physicians (MD and DO), chiropractic physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, radiology technologists and surgical technologists. 

To see a complete listing of accreditation for this continuing medical education symposium – review the complete list.
 

For more information this continuing medical education symposium, click here or call
(317) 228-7000.

Many times, patients spend a lot of time preparing for spine surgery – but what about after spine surgery? This Back Talk continuing medical education session will focus on the spine surgery patient, post-operatively; and provide health care practitioners in-depth guidelines to care for these patients; including warning signs, red flags, pharmacological management, and spinal rehabilitation guidelines and therapy.

This session will be presented by Jodi Hettermann Blume, PA-C, and Jennifer Turner, PA-C.  Both Jodi and Jennifer are physician assistants with Indiana Spine Group. 

For more information about this continuing medical education symposium,
call (317)228-7000, or click here. 

One unique session for “Back Talk”, the continuing medical education symposium sponsored by Indiana Spine Group, will feature a hands-on component. During this session, entitled Hands-On | Surgical Case Studies, attendees will have the opportunity to get a first-hand look at spinal instrumentation, cervical artificial disc implants and other surgical devices used during spine surgery. Spine surgeons Kenneth Renkens, MD, and Thomas Reilly, MD, will lead this discussion. As they review the technology, they will discuss spine surgery case studies including diagnoses, recommended surgical interventions and expected outcomes.

For more information about Back Talk, and a complete continuing medical education conference agenda, click here.

Sign-up early for Back Talk, and save! Early bird registration discount available until July 30.

 
BACK TALK: Comprehensive Concepts in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Spinal Disorders

This continuing medical education conference, sponsored by Indiana Spine Group is the 3^rd annual spine symposium for primary care physicians and other health care practitioners. This conference will provide the latest information for the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders, injuries and abnormalities. 

Date:                September 11 and 12, 2009

Location:          University Place Conference Center | Indianapolis

Visit the conference web site for complete conference information – agenda, continuing medical education accreditation, and a registration form – or call our office at 317.228.7000.

Another session at the continuing medical education symposium “Back Talk” will highlight case studies.  With these case studies, conference attendees will review specific patient complaints of neck and back pain, and the recommended diagnostic studies.  Spinal imaging studies will be reviewed and radiological findings will be highlighted.  Additionally, the facilitators of this educational session will review different applicable minimally invasive treatment options based on the clinical and radiological results.  A few minimally invasive treatment options that will be discussed will include radiofrequency, IDET and percutaneous discectomy. 

This break out session, at the continuing medical education symposium “Back Talk”, will focus on spine and sports. It is estimated that 20% of all injuries that occur in sports involve the lower back or neck. During this session, Dr. Paul Kraemer a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group, and Nate Blume, DC, a chiropractic physician will highlight common spinal injuries that result from organized and recreational sports; i.e. football, basketball, golf. They will discuss assessment guidelines and treatment protocols for spinal injuries resulting from sports. Additionally, initial on-site assessment and treatment, as well as recommendation guidelines for ‘continuing to play’ will be discussed during this medical education session.

A second concurrent session at Back Talk, the continuing medical education symposium will focus on spinal fractures and the treatment options for spinal fractures. With the aging population, the incidence of age-specific spinal fractures is expected to increase. One study estimated that vertebral compression fractures affects 25% of post-menopausal women.

This session will be presented by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. At this session, he will discuss:

• How to recognize the symptoms, assess and diagnose osteoporotic spinal fractures. 
• Discuss the indications for medical management and interventional therapies.
• Highlight vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures.
• Review the indications and treatment of sacroplasty for sacral fractures. 

A few concurrent sessions at Back Talk, will address The Aging Spine. One session, entitled The Aging Spine | Osteoporosis and Spinal Arthritis Update, will be presented by Michael Stack, MD, PhD.  Dr. Stack is a board-certified rheumatologist with Diagnostic Rheumatology & Research. 

During this continuing medical education session, Dr. Stack will provide the latest information on osteoporosis and spinal arthritis. This will include:

• The latest screening, diagnostic and treatment algorithms for osteopenia and osteoporosis.
• Indications and contra-indications of medications and hormone replacement therapy to prevent and treat osteoporosis. 
• The symptoms, diagnostic triage and current treatment options for spinal arthritis. 

The second day of Back Talk, the continuing medical education symposium for physicians and health care practitioners, will provide a series of concurrent sessions where attendees will choose which topics they would like to attend. There are four series of sessions that will address specific diagnoses, overall spine wellness, discuss minimally invasive spine treatments including spinal cord stimulator and verteboplasty as well spine surgery treatments. Additionally, case studies will be reviewed. For a complete continuing medical education agenda, click here. 

Brochures for Back Talk, Indiana Spine Groups continuing medical education symposium, have been mailed.  If you have not received a brochure, and would like to receive one – please call (317) 228-7000, or email your request to info@indianaspinegroup.com.  Registrations are now being taken for this medical education program. 

We are excited to highlight another silver sponsor of Back Talk, Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education program – Globus Medical.

Globus Medical is dedicated to providing the most advanced, simple to use, highest quality spinal products. Their spinal products include the areas of fusion, minimally invasive surgery (MIS), biomaterials and motion preservation. Since its founding in 2003, Globus Medical continues to develop new technologies to improve patient outcomes. 

The ultimate goal of Globus is to utilize superior engineering and technology to achieve pain free active lives for all patients.