pars defect - stress fractures

Tagged: pars fractures and isthmic spondylolisthesis

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sheryltc
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September 25, 2012 at 8:22 pm

Post count: 6

#7012

In late 2009, my son complained of back pain. He was a high school cross country runner – running approx. 50 miles per week. He would take a few weeks off due to the pain – then he’d feel ok – and then start running again. The pain would return. In April, 2010 my son (18 yrs old at that time) was diagnosed with 2 stress fractures in the L4 vertebra. He wore a back brace for 6 months – we were told that the back had healed all it would heal. However, my son was still in pain. Since then he has seen 2 other back specialists, 2 chiropractors and a pain management dr. He also did a core-center exercise program as prescribed by one of the chiropractors. None of the treatments have helped with his pain. I continually search the internet for info. I found your website. We live in the Atlanta, GA area. Do you have any physicians that you can refer us to that are in our area? I read on your site about the pars defect repair. We have MRI, CT, bone scan and bone density tests. All the drs we have seen tell us there is nothing they can do. My son is now 20 years old – and has pain daily. Anything you can do to help us will be greatly appreciated!!.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

September 25, 2012 at 8:41 pm

Post count: 8660

#7013

Pars fractures can heal if there is healing potential but many of these fractures do not heal in spite of brace treatment. Pain from these fractures can originate from the fractures themselves or from the disc if the disc has been injured (not uncommon).

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend anyone in the Atlanta area (not that there are not good doctors there but I am unaware of who has experience with this disorder and pars repairs).

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.

sheryltc
Member

September 26, 2012 at 12:05 am

Post count: 6

#7014

What is the type doctor that we should get an appointment with? We’ve seen 2 orthopedic back specialists. And we saw a dr at a spine center that deals with sports injuries in the back.
Would you recommend a neurologist? spine surgeon? What?? I just do not know who to call now.

texasspondy
Member

September 26, 2012 at 2:15 am

Post count: 25

#7015

Sheryltc, I don’t speak for Dr. Corenman, and I am not doctor, but I did sleep at a Holiday inn last night, just kidding. I have spondylolysis, aka pars deffect at the L5-S1 level, and done a ton of research as well as educate myself from Dr. Corenman’s site.

What I have gathered so far is a pars fracture is a mechanical defect, like any bone that breaks if braced properly in a timely manner, you might be able to avoid further complications, hence why your doctor put your son in a brace. But trying to keep the bone from moving while we live are daily lives without hardware, can at best heal up with some scar tissue/bone formation, not perfect.

I’m sure Dr. Corenman will reply to you soon enough but just wanted to tell you, I know your son’s pain. You are encouraged to seek specialtists of the spine, being a an orthopedic doctor that has additional training (residencey I believe) in spine care, which is what I believe Dr. Corenman is, an Orthopedic Spine Specialtist. You could also seek a Neurosurgeon, that specializes in the spine. Sounds like you have seen two Orthopedic Spine Specialtists, did their information compare with each other? Hope you find some relief for your son..

sheryltc
Member

September 26, 2012 at 3:39 am

Post count: 6

#7016

Thanks for your reply. We saw a dr at a large spine center in Atlanta – he specialized in sports injuries related to the spine. He tried an injection for the pain (which did not work at all), then an Exogen Bone growth stimulator (which caused more pain) and then he suggested pain management. All 3 back specialists left us with these words “the next step is surgery, but I don’t recommend it due to your son’s young age).
We went to a pain management clinic – he referred to 2 different chiropractors. My son did have some relief from the last chiropractor’s regiment – which was an exercise program dealing with core strengthening.
It’s going on 3 years now since my son first started having pain. He deals with it daily. And it has affected his emotions as well. He fights negativity & depression now. He did see a counselor for about a year. He’s just very discouraged from the pain.

sheryltc
Member

September 26, 2012 at 3:40 am

Post count: 6

#7017

And I failed to ask you in my other reply – how are you doing? Do you have pain from your injury? If so, how do you deal with it?
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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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pars defect – stress fractures