Indiana Back Pain

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. 

In July, Jonathan Gentile, MD, spoke during the luncheon at the annual Indiana Academy of Family Practitioners (IAFP) conference. This lunch was sponsored by St.Vincent Health, a strategic partner with IAFP. 

Dr. Gentiles talk entitled Understanding the Failed Back, addressed the following:

•  The assessment of patients following spine surgery who continue to suffer from  ongoing chronic back pain; and identification of failed back.
• The treatment options for failed back; their indications and effectiveness.

For parents of school-aged children, school supply shopping is most likely on their “to-do” list. One item, typically purchased annually, is the backpack. Fashion, size and durability are usually key factors in selecting a backpack. But, did you know that backpacks can contribute to back pain in school-aged children?

According to Paul Kraemer, MD, a spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group – the incidence of children with back pain is rising – and sometimes it can be attributed to back packs. It is recommended that backpacks not exceed 10 to 15% of a child’s body weight.

This spine wellness fact sheet – provides tips for selecting and using backpacks and hopefully avoiding back pain. 

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. 

It has been said – that work can cause headaches – but it can also be said that work can be a pain in the back! Well maybe the work does not create back pain, but how you sit at your desk can result in back pain.

This spine wellness blog entry will provide a few tips for avoiding back pain, while sitting at your desk.

• Have your chair at the proper height; your feet should be flat on the floor and your knees should bend at a 90-degree angle.
• When you are talking on the phone, avoid bending your neck to cradle the phone against your shoulder.
• Avoid leaning over your desk for a long period of time.  If possible, try taking breaks and stretching.
• Sit with your back supported.

Indiana Spine Group has three minimally invasive spine specialists treating patients with back and neck pain.  The goal of minimally invasive spine specialists is to diagnose the cause of a patient’s neck / back pain – and to treat this cause. Many times medical management and/or minimally invasive spine treatments can effectively eliminate a patient’s neck or back pain.

To learn more about our minimally invasive spine specialists, Kevin Macadaeg, MD, Jonathan Gentile, MD, and John Arbuckle, MD, visit their biographies. Additionally, their videos provide insight into their treatment philosophy and expertise. 

For more information about Indiana Spine Group or to schedule an appointment call:  (317) 228-7000 or toll-free (866) 947-7463.

It has been said – that work can sometimes cause headaches – but it can also be said that work can be a pain in the back! Well maybe the work does not create back pain, but how you sit at your desk can result in back pain.

This spine wellness blog entry will provide a few tips for avoiding back pain, while sitting at your desk.

• Have your chair at the proper height; your feet should be flat on the floor and your knees should bend at a 90-degree angle.
• When you are talking on the phone, avoid bending your neck to cradle the phone against your shoulder.
• Avoid leaning over your desk for a long period of time.  If possible, try taking breaks and stretching.
• Sit with your back supported.

One treatment for ongoing back pain following spine surgery - sometimes referred to as failed back syndrome, is a spinal cord stimulator. A spinal cord stimulator uses electrical impulses to help relieve chronic back pain. Previous blog entries have highlighted this procedure. 

Dr. Jonathan Gentile, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group, implants spinal cord stimulators - when indicated -  in patients suffering from failed back syndrome. To watch him discuss this procedure, click here. 

As summer approaches – and people are planning their road trips.  This blog entry provides a few spine wellness tips for travelers.  Driving can literally be a pain in the back.  Research has shown that driving can result in back pain.  This is caused by the fixed position combined with motion, vibrations and the swaying of your automobile.

As travel costs increase, most people find that if they are flying, they are flying coach. The good news is the savings – the bad news is the space. Sometimes – you may feel like a “sardine” in a can. Depending on the duration of your flight, these close quarters can result in back or neck pain. 

This spine wellness tip provides a few hints to avoid neck and back pain.

·         To help avoid back pain – support your lower back. To do this, roll two airline blankets or take two pillows, and place them on each side of your lower back. This will provide lower back support. 

·         To help avoid neck pain – use an inflatable pillow – place this around your neck if you are sleeping. 

Another spine wellness tip while flying is to try to keep the space under the seat in front of you clear. This will allow you to stretch your legs. If this is not possible, then place your
item(s) in the middle, and place your legs on each side.