Flexion-Extension X ray of 2018

Tagged: Flexion-Extension and popping/grinding of the facets in the neck

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 4, 2018 at 5:58 am

Post count: 8660

#28871

Your C4-5 is not too bad. It is slipped (degenerative spondylolisthesis) but does not move in slip severely based upon flexion/extension X-rays. I would call the slip “mild to moderate”. The reason for this slip however is the severe kyphosis (anterior angulation) at C5-7. It appears that you most likely had an injury years before that caused this severe angulation. C4 is simply now responding to the anterior stress of the angulation due to the tilt of the C5 vertebra due to the C5-7 kyphosis.

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.

appleannie
Participant

August 4, 2018 at 12:03 pm

Post count: 129

#28875

Hello Dr.Corenman,
First Thank you for reviewing my X-RAYS for me. Dr.Corenman are you saying that the Instability at C4-5 level is still Mild to Moderate ,Is that good that it hasn’t changed? Dr. Corenman if I don’t participate in dangerous activities or put my neck at risk should I be OK(Please let me know) ? Dr Corenman in one of your past post (#28449) that you said it is possible over time, if the degeneration continues and the level might need to be stabilized, Do you still feel that might be a possibility in the future?
Dr. Corenman did my Facets at C4-5 level get any worse ?
How does the C1,2,3, levels looks to you ? I hope in good shape !!

Dr.Corenman my main concern is the C4-5 level with the Instability so if I don’t participate in dangerous activities or put my neck at risk should I be OK ? Because I’m really not looking forward to having surgery down the line.Thank You again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to review my X-RAYS and answer my questions for me and you’re a great Doctor.

Thank You,

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 5, 2018 at 6:19 am

Post count: 8660

#28879

“How does the C1,2,3, levels looks to you”? Those levels look fine by X-ray.

C4-5 (based upon images that are somewhat small) does not look significantly worse.

“over time, if the degeneration continues and the level might need to be stabilized”. Still possible. I worry about the levels below angled with significant kyphosis causing increased wear of C4-5 due to the tilt.

You probably will be OK without dangerous loading of your neck.

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.

appleannie
Participant

August 5, 2018 at 5:29 pm

Post count: 129

#28890

Hi Dr. Corenman,
Thank you again for answering my questions for me,I really appreciate it. Dr. Corenman I have a couple more questions for you.

1) Is my C4-5 level Unstable? If it is what’s causing it to be Unstable?

2)Dr. Corenman this is what you said in the last post ( I worry about the levels below the angled with significant kyphosis causing increased wear of C4-5 due to the tilt.) Can I ask why you’re worried about the levels below the angled ? What can happen to the levels below the angle with significant kyphosis ? Would they become UNSTABLE ? Please let me know !!

Thank you,

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 5, 2018 at 8:22 pm

Post count: 8660

#28891

The C4-5 has some mild instability due to wear of the facets. This instability is probably due to the tilt of the kyphosis from the angulation below. Nothing should happen to the levels below but the slip at C4-5 is the result of the angular tilt of C5.

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.

appleannie
Participant

August 5, 2018 at 10:23 pm

Post count: 129

#28894

Hello Dr.Corenman,
Thank you for answering my questions for me.
Dr.Corenman I injured my neck in 1988 from a fall down a flight of stairs.My injury was a Compression fracture of my C5 vertebrae and tore my Ligaments away from my vertebraes at C4-5 level. Dr. Corenman the only treatment that I had was I was placed in a Halo brace for three months.And after the three months the Doctor that was treating me removed the Halo brace and took new X-rays of my cervical spine and told me that my Ligaments had healed on a angle and that I was going to have mild to moderate instability for the rest of my life at C4-5 level and to be careful what I do for the rest of my life.Dr Corenman do you agree with the Doctor that treated me in 1988 about my Ligaments healing on a angle and having mild to moderate instability for the rest of my life and lots of Arthritis when I got older ? Could you please let me know your Opinion because you reviewed my X-RAYS!!

Thank you,
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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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