Sciatica is pain in the leg that runs along the course of the sciatic nerve due to pinching or irritation of the nerves in the lower back. Common causes include herniated discs, spondylolisthesis (a condition in which one vertebrae slips out of place onto the bone below it) or degenerated discs. It typically presents as pain…
Is your back killing you? You’re not alone. More than 85 percent of Americans will experience back pain at some point in their lives. In fact, it’s one of the most common reasons why people visit their doctor and the leading cause of global disability.
If you experience chronic, unrelenting back or neck pain, you’re not alone. Back pain that won’t go away despite conservative, non-operative treatments, is the most common type of chronic pain. Only one out of 10 people in the U.S. with chronic pain end up needing spine surgery, and the spine surgeons associated with Mather’s Back…
Patients with chronic low back pain can suffer for many years, trying different therapies to relieve their pain. In the past, patients were often diagnosed with discogenic pain or spinal joint pain (originating from the disc or spine joints) – and treated with a course of care that focused on the joint or disc. However,…
Spinal stenosis is a common spine condition that causes back and/or neck pain. Most commonly, spinal stenosis occurs in the low back called the lumbar area. It develops when the spinal canal becomes narrow and compresses the spinal cord. This narrowing can put pressure on the spinal nerves that run down the leg causing pain…
Spinal disks are the pads that sit between vertebrae and act as shock absorbers for the spine. When a disk herniates (sometimes referred to as a slipped disk, bulging disk or protruding disk), the soft center of the spinal disk pushes through a crack in its tough exterior casing and into the spinal canal. Some…
Have you been told you need to have spine surgery? Surgery can seem daunting and you may have doubts about your recommended course of treatment, and that is completely normal. Many patients feel embarrassed to ask for a second opinion when considering surgery, but there is nothing to be embarrassed about. Doing your research and…