Opinion about my x-rays of spine

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC
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January 28, 2014 at 4:47 am

Post count: 8660

#10257

The good news is that your thoracic curve is 35 degrees supine (lying down) and 55 degrees standing. That means you have s supple curve and probably can correct to about 20 degrees with surgery.

The 13mm canal at T8-10 does not create any obstacles to your surgery.

Lower back pain and weakness is most likely from continuing compression at the surgical level (L5-S1) or possible from foraminal stenosis in the levels above.

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.

nikserer
Member

January 28, 2014 at 5:23 am

Post count: 24

#10258

Thanks dr. so much on your comments. I was also supposing that my spine is pretty flexible because I was constant doing stretching exercise including hinging on crossbar. Now I can’t do that hanging because of lumbar fusion, but I miss so that. I also noticed that when I am measuring high in morning and evening there is difference about 1 to 1,5 cm. Today I was in my neurologist check and he also ordered beside CT and MRI – EMNG (Electromyoneurography) of lower spine.
I hope that all this new studies will give better picture for my problem. Off course I will mention all your notes to my neurosurgeon and I will for sure mention your name and your suggestions based on your big experience and knowledge in this field.
Also, I will update you with new MRI and CT results.
Best regards and once again thanks a lot on your time.
NIkola

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

February 3, 2014 at 12:16 am

Post count: 8660

#10299

Your change of height from morning to evening is typical for all humans. Pressure on the discs from standing will squeeze water out of the disc and the disc will loose height. This is similar to letting some air out of a car tire.

When you sleep, the disc will absorb water again which will increase your height in the morning.

Let us know how you fare in your treatment.

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.

nikserer
Member

February 5, 2014 at 3:28 am

Post count: 24

#10308

Hello dr. again
Just wanted to update you that I had done EMG test today. My neurologist told me that nerves in my left leg (where I experience radiating pain) are still fine and “without any significant lesions of nerves”.
I also asked him why I still feel than pain and weakness in my left leg that comes from my low back, and he said that it is probably from some compression to nerve roots and it will be better seen in CT and MRI scans.
They scheduled me CT and MRI in hospital soon, and then I hope we shall see exactly source of pain.
For medications I am using: Neurontin, amytriptiline and sometimes (when pain is in red level) Nimulid (or other NSAID) for chronic pain and better sleep.
I also use in morning before breakfast Nolpaza (PANTOPRAZOLE SODIUM SESQUIHYDRATE) because of chronic gastritis and to protect my stomach from pain medications.
I am now waiting for CT and MRI checks so I can go back to my surgeon and see what he will decide to do next.
All the best, and once again thanks for your time and useful advices.
Nikola

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

February 5, 2014 at 9:56 pm

Post count: 8660

#10313

EMGs are useful for certain nerve disorders and not useful for others. The pain fibers are very small diameter non-myelinated (non-insulated) nerves. These nerves are much too small to be picked up on an EMG test so generally, this test is not helpful if there is no motor deficit (which is the vast majority of nerve injuries).

You can review the medications section on this website for a further understanding of the meds you currently use.

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.

nikserer
Member

February 5, 2014 at 10:23 pm

Post count: 24

#10315

Thanks dr. for explanation about EMG test. I also thought that it will not show much lesions because my legs are still in function (beside pain in left leg in prolonged standing and sitting).

About, medications I use – yes I now for what each of them is used for:

“Neurontin – Gabapentin is used primarily to treat seizures, neuropathic pain, including concussions, and hot flashes…”

“Amitriptyline – is tricyclic antidepressant (TCA). Today he is more often prescribed to help prevent migraine or to help with certain types of nerve pain. It is not licensed for these uses, but has been shown to be effective…”

“NSAID – class of drugs that provides analgesic and antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects, and, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory effects”.

Thanks again, and I will update you when I finish CT and MRI…
Best regards
Nikola
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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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