Please Help me Understand my MRIs? In Horrible Pain

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Malcolm
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July 4, 2014 at 3:57 am

Post count: 5

#11149

Dr Corenman, thanks for the quick response. I have read the sections suggested. The main issue I have is that the pain is very diffuse and does not match a particular dermatome but is the whole of the hand and the forearm to the elbows with occasional parathesia and electric shocks in the hands. The ache is continuous but until the last week there was no neck pain (this is just beginning to get stiff – may be due to my worrying). The upper back has had stiff muscles which are mainly the large ones that run down just inside the scapula and a pain in a straight line across just below them. The cervical angina has been only since Jan. It looks to me very like surgery will be the main option as conservative care has been unsuccessful. I can only sleep by taking a sleeping tablet. A minor point (I hope) you did not refer to the C3-4 impingement. Where would this affect please? Much appreciated for your time and input

regards Malcolm

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

July 5, 2014 at 2:42 am

Post count: 8660

#11154

To determine if the pinched nerves in your neck are causing the arm and hand pain, a selective nerve root block (SNRB-see website) should be used in my opinion. Keep a pain diary (again-website) to determine how much (if any) relief you gain. Little or no temporary relief calls into question the pinched nerve cause of your pain.

Now, good relief does point to your neck nerves as the source of pain but does not absolutely prove that the nerves are the cause. (Chronic nerve injury pain CNIP-see website, will also be relieved by this injection but CNIP will not be helped by surgery). CNIP occurs in less than 5-7% of patients so don’t be too worried about this diagnosis.

C3-4 nerve compression can cause cervical angina (the C4 dermatome radiates over the front of the chest wall). Typically as in the case of any pinched cervical nerve root, the pain will increase with neck extension (bending the head backwards) and be relieved with neck flexion )forward head bend).

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.

Malcolm
Participant

August 7, 2014 at 1:34 am

Post count: 5

#11264

Dr Corenman

I have now had a nerve root block at C5/6 and C6/7 which has had some effect in that the pain did diminish initally but never really went away.It is now as bad as before but more localised in the hands, wrists and elbows. It looks like I will need surgery. As I am a type 1 diabetic I am concerned that although in good health now this amy not be the case in years to come. As a result I do not know whether it is better to have foraminotomies done on both sides of the C5/6 and C6/7 levels (how much will this weaken the spine?) or 2 disc replacements. I would be interested on your thoughts on this.

many thanks for your input aand for this site

regards Malcolm

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 23, 2014 at 8:05 pm

Post count: 8660

#11336

You now plan to decompress the nerve roots at C5-6 and C6-7. You mention posterior foraminotomies or “disc replacement” but do not mention ACDF (decompression and fusion).

Posterior foraminotomies have their place with mild to moderate compression of the nerve root without large anterior spurs (uncovertebral joint hypertrophy-see cervical radiculopathy on the website). WIth large spurs or motor weakness (muscle weakness), the posterior foraminotomies are much less effective (remember Peyton Manning?). See the section on posterior foraminotomies on this website.

Artificial disc replacement vs ACDF is a topic I have covered on a sticky at the beginning of the neck pain forum. Please review that on the forum. Being a type 1 diabetic makes surgery somewhat more challenging but you could still consider either ADR or ACDF surgery.

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.

Malcolm
Participant

August 25, 2014 at 4:08 am

Post count: 5

#11345

Many thanks for your reply. I have looked at the MRI’s with the surgeon and he showed me that the discs concerned on impinged at the foramina and did not bulge in the middle. I cannot comment on how large the spurs are but he is confident that doing the foraminotomies gives a high chance of success without affecting the stability of the neck. I have not considered ACDF as I would rather keep as much flexibility as possible.If necessary (which one hopes of course is not the case) I am informed that a disc replacement could be done later. The surgeon also advised that a foraminotomy is least invasive option available to me. Again many thaks and my regards Malcolm.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 25, 2014 at 10:16 am

Post count: 8660

#11346

If the spurs are not too large, then the foraminotomies should be a good choice. Please let us know how you do after surgery.

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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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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