Can a nerve root block distinguish radiculopathy from peripheral neuropathy ?

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SarahUK
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August 15, 2015 at 5:10 am

Post count: 12

#20245

Hi there, so for the last year I have had an excruciating pain in the sole/arch of my right foot ( the left one tingles a bit too but is not as bad). MRIs of the foot were normal but an MRI of the lumbar spine showed a small disc herniation on the right side. It was concluded that this was the source of the foot pain albeit with an ‘ unusual presentation’ ( I have never had any back pain or sciatic pain anywhere else) . I had a serious of nerve root blocks/ steroid injections and the foot pain disappeared completely from January – May. When it came back it was suggested I have a microdiscectomy which I had in June and which made the foot pain 1000 times worse. I sought a second opinion from a senior neurosurgeon this week – he said that even after the MD the disc was still touching the nerve. However, in his view it was so minor/slight that it could not cause this amount of foot pain . He has now gone down the route of a ‘ small fibre neuropathy’ problem . I have had nerve conduction studies in the past which were normal . I have no other weird sensations in the foot ( no numbness , weird temperature sensations or hypersensitivity ) – just great pain . My question is : if the nerve root blocks worked so well, doesn’t this imply the source of the pain is in fact in my back ? Or would a nerve root block also work if it was a problem related to peripheral neuropathy ? Please could you kindly clarify this for me and give me your expert opinion !!
I should also add that since the op I have had two more nerve root blocks and a pulsed radio frequency neuromodulation – none of this helped at all.
Thanks so much,
Sarah

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
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August 15, 2015 at 1:31 pm

Post count: 8660

#20248

Foot pain without pain radiating from the spine down the buttocks and posterior thigh always makes me worried about sources other than a spine origin. Yes-selective nerve root blocks (SNRB) generally will diagnose the origin of the disorder (but only in the first three hours after the block-see pain diary).

Other areas of nerve compression include the lateral knee (common peroneal nerve compression-see website) and tarsal tunnel syndrome. Generally, testing can indicate the cause (see EMG/NCV) of this nerve entrapment but “small fiber neuropathy” can cause pain and tingling without any evidence of changes on EMG/NCV.

If you have had two nerve blocks after surgery without any immediate relief (again-see pain diary), the source is not the blocked nerve as you would have had temporary relief.

You might have chronic neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy (see website). These disorders can be diagnosed but treatment is medical or related to a spinal cord stimulator. Get to an experienced neurologist who will take the time to diagnose you.

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.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 15, 2015 at 1:31 pm

Post count: 8660

#20249

Foot pain without pain radiating from the spine down the buttocks and posterior thigh always makes me worried about sources other than a spine origin. Yes-selective nerve root blocks (SNRB) generally will diagnose the origin of the disorder (but only in the first three hours after the block-see pain diary).

Other areas of nerve compression include the lateral knee (common peroneal nerve compression-see website) and tarsal tunnel syndrome. Generally, testing can indicate the cause (see EMG/NCV) of this nerve entrapment but “small fiber neuropathy” can cause pain and tingling without any evidence of changes on EMG/NCV.

If you have had two nerve blocks after surgery without any immediate relief (again-see pain diary), the source is not the blocked nerve as you would have had temporary relief.

You might have chronic neuropathy or peripheral neuropathy (see website). These disorders can be diagnosed but treatment is medical or related to a spinal cord stimulator. Get to an experienced neurologist who will take the time to diagnose you.

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.

SarahUK
Participant

August 15, 2015 at 2:26 pm

Post count: 12

#20250

Thank you for your kind reply. Yes after each nerve block I have hsd significant relief for a few hours .. After my second nerve block into L5 S1 I had (after a two week delay) four months when I was virtually pain free ! Doesn’t that indicate that the source is the nerve root ? What kind of tests should they be doing to confirm/deny peripheral neuropathy! I have no other symptoms than severe foot pain – no numbness, temperature changes, hypersensitivity to touch … Do you think it could still be a peripheral neuropathy (in one foot only ) ?
Thanks for your kind advice !

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 16, 2015 at 11:38 am

Post count: 8660

#20251

Most likely the injection did “calm” the root down. A problem with long term relief without knowledge of the short term relief (first three hours after the injection only) is the steroid effect. Steroids can yield relief in structures not immediate to the location of the injection. It is the first three hours only that are diagnostic. Nonetheless, this should not be peripheral neuropathy with a spine injection giving relief.

You might have lateral recess stenosis or foraminal stenosis (see website) at this level. Do you have pain with walking and standing? If not, you probably don’t have either of those two disorders. If you do have chronic radiculopathy (website), you might need further injections, medications or eventually consideration of a spinal cord stimulator. Injections (SNRB) should give immediate relief for three hours (unless you have resistance to the “caines”-lidocaine or marcaine)

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.
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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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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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