C5-C6 Protrusion

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MikeMorris18
Member

March 25, 2013 at 7:04 pm

Post count: 11

#8269

Now thinking about it, the pain relief definitely came after 3 hours. Both injections were late afternoon and the relief only came the following morning.

Sorry about not commenting on this earlier. I have previously read your pain diary section, but that point slipped my mind.

I hope it is just CNS and CBS (crappy back syndrome) to go along with my CHS (crappy hips syndrome)

Thanks again for your quick and informative responses. When I have some more feedback you will be the first I advise.

Have a good night.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 26, 2013 at 6:59 pm

Post count: 8660

#8277

Let the forum know what the first three hours response to the nerve root blocks are. Good initial relief should direct your physician to the nerve as the cause of your pain.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

MikeMorris18
Member

March 27, 2013 at 11:15 pm

Post count: 11

#8284

Absolutely!! As soon I see the ortho’ I will ask for the block and see what happens.

Many thanks again for your time and patience.

MikeMorris18
Member

April 10, 2013 at 8:04 pm

Post count: 11

#8394

Hi Dr Corenman,

Just to provide a follow up of my appointment with my orthopedic.

In regard to the mri and xray he said the disc protrusion was very minor but could be the source of my pain in the shoulder. I inquired about the RNB and his reply was not needed.
Was a bit disappointed by this to be honest as could save me some time by knowing whether it is the torn suprspinatus or the C5-C6 causing the pain.

He has sent me for 20 sessions of physio on the neck, as he does not believe in osteopathy for my situation.

I had the first session today, bearing in mind it is with my health insurance, so 20 patients two physios.

They placed 4 electrodes in suction caps on my neck and upper back for 10 minutes with a heat lamp.

Then 10 minutes in a neck, pulley and weight device. Bit medieval! Sitting in a chair with my head in a harness and a counterweight adding some extension to my neck. Started with 2kgs. They said they will add more weight over the following sessions.

Then 20 minutes of basic neck exercises.

None of this was hands-on, basic setup and instructions.

So in summary, I am not that much the wiser. Have an ortho follow up in 4 weeks, after completion of the 20 sessions of physio.

Wish there was something new and exciting to report but am still a bit in the dark.

Am hoping still that i am a case of CNS!!

Kind regards as always.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

April 11, 2013 at 8:04 pm

Post count: 8660

#8403

Well, your physiotherapy experience leaves much to be desired. You had some electrical stimulation and heat (what I call “shake and bake”) which is not effective. Then you had “over the door” traction which is most likely worthless (you can purchase that rig online for less than $20.00US). You then had twenty minutes of neck exercises. If this was not “hands on” treatment but group exercises, you could have learned these out of a book.

This leads me to Thomas Edison’s quote; “the purpose of the physician is to entertain the patient while nature affects the cure”. Hopefully over time, regardless of the treatment you receive, you will improve.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

MikeMorris18
Member

April 11, 2013 at 8:23 pm

Post count: 11

#8406

Every word you have said is 100% spot on!! Shake and bake is a new one and extremely appropriate.

I had my second session this morning and the service was even less than yesterday. Unfortunately that is the situation with our private health insurance here (Spain). Probably the same in many other parts of the world.

Having been to 3 separate rehabilitation centers here in the last year (acl recon, rotator cuff tear/shoulder and now neck) and all are of ´the same design/economic model´ Get in as many as you can per hour, little bit of electrical stimulation then exercises performed by the patient.

My options are limited so therefore will complete the program and await further advice from the ortho here.

My situation I feel is straightforward, as previously explained. Just want to know whether the burning pain is shoulder or neck. The impingement pain I can live with and adapt my routines. The burning pain in the neck/shoulder I cannot. Bearing in mind that I lived with a torn acl and next to nothing meniscus from the age of 23 to 39 and continued an active, sporty lifestyle.

If it is the shoulder then I get it fixed, if it is the neck then I get it fixed, if possible.

I am sure there is a time and a place for conservative treatment. From my experiences though I feel I am wasting a lot of people’s time, especially yours.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and reply to my little saga.

Hope you have a great day.

from the shake and bake patient!!
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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

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