Kevin Macadaeg, MD

This blog entry is part of a series of interview responses provided by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Dr. Macadaeg was recently interview about back pain and spinal treatments.

Is it difficult, or tricky to know how to treat back/neck pain? Is it something that is difficult to measure or quantify?

It is widely stated that more than half of all cases of back or neck pain are non-specific, meaning that they cannot be clearly defined. This takes into consideration the multitude of tests available, including history, physical, MRI, CT scan, bone scan, and EMG.

This blog entry is part of a series of interview responses provided by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Dr. Macadaeg was recently interview about back pain and spinal treatments.

What are some of the different causes or reasons for chronic neck or back pain? What would you say is the most common cause of back or neck pain?

The most common causes of chronic neck or back pain are degenerative disc disease and degenerative spondylosis (degeneration of the spinal joints, development of bony spurs, disc degeneration and calcification of spinal ligaments).

Other causes include herniated disc, spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) and spondylolisthesis (slipping of a vertebra).

What are the different options available to treat this type of pain?

Recently Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group was interviewed for a magazine article about back pain and spinal treatments. The following few blogs will highlight responses to the questions asked by the reporter.

What is chronic pain, and how is it different than acute pain?

Acute pain is considered “physiologic.” That means it is present when there is an underlying problem such as an acute injury, certain sicknesses and diseases. This type of pain is usually self-limited, and resolves when the underlying primary problem is healed.

Chronic pain is considered “non-physiologic.” It is present despite the fact that the underlying problem has healed or stabilized. Examples include peripheral neuropathy, degenerative disc disease, arthritis and cancer. Chronic pain commonly has associated emotional effects including depression, anger, anxiety; and physical effects including loss of appetite, weight gain or loss.

Back Talk | A Comprehensive Review and Practical

Approach to Spinal Diagnosis and Treatment

Another series of talks during the spine symposium Back Talk, Indiana Spine Group’s fifth annual continuing medical education symposium will focus on treatment options for spine patients and highlight medical, minimally invasive and spine surgery options. This includes their clinical indicators and expected outcomes.

These sessions include:

• Nonoperative and Noninvasive Therapies, which will be presented by minimally invasive spine specialist Jonathan Gentile, MD.

• Minimally Invasive Therapies, presented by Kevin Macadaeg, MD,  minimally invasive spine specialist.

• Common Surgical Procedures, which will be presented by spine surgeon Thomas Reilly, MD, FACS.

 For a complete spine symposium brochure, visit this link.

Back Talk | A Comprehensive Review and Practical

Approach to Spinal Diagnosis and Treatment

One series of sessions at Indiana Spine Group’s continuing medical education / continuing education spine symposium will focus on the diagnosis of spinal disorders.  In one series of talks, speakers will highlight key issues and steps critical to spinal diagnosis. Topics will include:

• Spinal Anatomy – differentiating between normal and abnormal spinal anatomy (Speaker: Jonathan Gentile, MD, minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group)

• Diagnostic Pearls – identification of the critical components of the physical exam, and essential elements of the diagnostic work-up (Speaker: John Arbuckle, MD, minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group)

• Common Spinal Disorders – diagnostic indicators for disorders such as herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, spondylosis and more (Speaker: Kevin Macadaeg, MD, minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group)

• Disorders of the Bones – a review of conditions such as osteomalacia, Paget’s disease, spinal arthritis and osteoporosis (Rashid Khairi, MD, FACP, FACE, an endocrinologist with Diabetes & Endocrinology Associates) 

• Uncommon and Benign Disorders – a discussion of disorders such as infections and vascular disorders. (Kenneth Renkens, MD, FACS, spine surgeon with Indiana Spine Group)

•  The Role of EMG – the role and indications of EMG in the diagnosis of cervical and lumbar radiculopathy. (Larry Lett, MD, Center for EMG and Neurology)

Registrations are now being accepted for Indiana Spine Group's fifth annual spine symposium Back Talk. "This conference focuses on the latest information about spinal diagnosis and treatment, and is an excellent way for physicians and health care practitioners to get comprehensive information," states Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group and co-chairman of Back Talk.

Recognizing that back pain is one of the most common reasons patients seek medical care, this continuing medical education conference will highlight the latest, evidence-based clinical information on the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders. Back Talk features general and concurrent sessions, and new this year are clinical and cadaver workshops.

Back Talk | A Comprehensive Review and Practical Approach to Spinal Diagnosis and Treatment | November 11 and 12, 2011

For more information, call (317) 228-7000 or visit the following links:

Registration Form | Accreditation | Agenda

Most likely when you think of osteoporosis, you think of a disease that affects older individuals. But did you know that the health habits of teens can affect their risk for osteoporosis? This spine wellness blog will provide resources for you and your teen(s).

This fall the Health and Human Services launched a new program to influence girls aged 9 – 15 to eat healthy now! This campaign encourages spine wellness and is called The Best Bones Forever!™ Campaign. This program encourages girls to get active and eat more foods with calcium and vitamin.
 

“It is important for teens to pay attention to the amount of calcium and Vitamin D in their diet, as well as develop spine wellness health habits. When you are young, bone is replaced at a more rapid rate. So essentially, when you are a teenager you are building your “bone bank” for later years,” says Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. “And by 18, an individual has built most of their bone mass,” Macadaeg continues.

The new osteoporosis program for teens and their parents, Best Bones Forever, has a web site with resources and information to get started on bone healthy future. Click here, to visit the web site and resource center.

In addition to patient care and research, physicians with Indiana Spine Group lecture nationally and internationally as well as publish.  A few recent publications include the following:

• A book chapter co-authored by Kevin Macadaeg, MD, and Rick Sasso, MD, et.al. This chapter was on neck pain and was entitled, “Treatment of Axial Neck Pain”. This was published in Arthritis and Arthroplasty: The Spine, edited by Shen and Shaffrey.  To purchase this book, visit this link.  

• A chapter co-written by spine surgeons Rick Sasso, MD, and Paul Kraemer, MD, entitled “Rigid versus Dynamic Cervical Plates: Indications and Efficacy”. This chapter was published in a book entitled Controversies in Spine Surgery: Best Evidence Recommendations, edited by Vaccaro and Eck. This book is available online.

• Ambulatory surgery center
• Dedicated patient care and visitor areas with a cafe
• Imaging suite with MRI and CT
• Osteoporosis treatment center with DEXA scanning
• Physical therapy suite
• Medical academic center

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.

Back Talk, Indiana Spine Groups continuing medical education symposium, will provide concurrent sessions in addition to the two educational tracks (general and in-depth) and general sessions. These concurrent educational sessions will provide conference attendees a wide array of topics related to spinal conditions and treatments. A few of the concurrent sessions include:

Myths and Realities | Treatment of Vertebral Compression Fractures – This session, which will be presented by Indiana Spine Group minimally invasive spine specialist Kevin Macadaeg, MD, will highlight the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment indicators for vertebral compression fractures. Vertebral compression fractures have been identified as one of the most common fragility fractures in the U.S. During this educational session, two common treatment procedures for vertebral compression fractures will be discussed – this includes kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty.    

The Wellness Paradigm – Presented by chiropractic physician Nate Blume, DC, this continuing medical education session will apply the concept of functional medicine to spine health. The role of functional medicine in spinal health looks at contributing factors such as genetics and lifestyle. In this session, how to apply a wellness model to patient care and the role of functional medicine to improve the quality of a patient’s back health will be discussed. 

(Nate Blume, DC, is a chiropractic physician with Lakeside Chiropractic.)

Indiana Spine Group is hosting a fund raiser for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on September 11, 2010. This fund raiser is in honor of Kevin Macadaeg, MD, a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. Dr. Macadaeg was diagnosed with Grade 3A lymphoma in November 2009. All proceeds benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

 You and your guests are invited to attend! 

 Date:              September 11, 2010

Time:               7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Place:               The Westin Indianapolis | 50 S. Capitol Avenue

Guests will enjoy live music, dancing and a silent auction. Hors d’ oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar available. 
Click here for more information, and to make your reservation or call (317) 228-7000.

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. 

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation one in two women and one in four men will sustain an osteoporotic fracture sometime in their lives.  One of the most common fractures as a result of osteoporosis is a spinal fracture. 

In this spine wellness educational video, Dr. Kevin Macadaeg discusses osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures.  Dr. Macadaeg is a minimally invasive spine specialist with Indiana Spine Group. 

One procedure performed by the minimally invasive spine specialists at Indiana Spine Group is vertebroplasty.  Vertebroplasty is one of the treatment options for vertebral compression fractures. 

During vertebrplasty,a very specialized orthopaedic cement is injected into the vertebral body.  The advantages of vertebroplasty include:  immediate fix of the fractured area of the spine, that area of the bone is stronger as a result of the cement and the patient has pain relief in 1-2 days. 

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.