PLEASE READ MY MRI

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Laura1963
Participant

July 23, 2018 at 9:34 pm

Post count: 36

#28815

The spinal cord contour is normal

Tiny syrinx C5 C6 is again stable .

C2 C3 NORMAL
C3 C4 NORMAL
C4 C5 NORMAL

C5 C6 ..THERE IS A MILD DIFFUSE PISTERIOR DISC OSTEOPHYTE EFFACING THE ANTERIOR CSF BUT NOT COMPRESSING THE CORD ITSELF.THIS IS SLIGHTLY INCREASED IN SIZE COMPARED TO PREVIOUS .THE NEURAL FORAMINA IS PATENT .
C7 T1 NORMAL

OPINION STABLE SYRINX 1MM UP TO 2MM SINCE 2005 AT C5 C6 ..MINIMAL INCREASE IN SIZE OF A POSTERIOR DISC OSTEOPHYTE AT C5 C6 WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF NEURAL..

I have been having severe nerve pain literally head to toe ..sensation of chemical in my mouth head throat neck entire body

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

July 24, 2018 at 4:15 pm

Post count: 8660

#28816

Your symptoms of “severe nerve pain literally head to toe ..sensation of chemical in my mouth head throat neck entire body” make it virtually impossible to come to any conclusions from a simple neck MRI. Please see https://neckandback.com/conditions/how-to-describe-your-history-and-symptoms-of-neck-shoulder-and-arm-pain/ as you need to be specific with symptoms generated by your neck only.

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.

Laura1963
Participant

July 25, 2018 at 8:22 am

Post count: 36

#28823

Thank you Dr Coreman for reviewing my post..I do have muscle stiffness around my neck and shoulders and arms/biceps …but my question is can a bone spur or SM cause severe nerve pain in mouth and throat from C5 C6. Of a bone spur as per my MRI report i posted or the Syrinx that are both located at C5 C6 level as far as I know theres no compression on the spinal cord itself from the bone spur but to my understanding effacing the anterior of the CSF its is pushing on that area is that what effacing means ? Just trying to understand my report …if you could explain my report to me and or advise me to what symptoms that it could cause be greatfully appreciate ..Once again thank you so much…I watch your videos on youtube ..Very educational…

Laura1963
Participant

July 25, 2018 at 8:30 am

Post count: 36

#28824

thank you Dr coreman for reviewing my post ..My question is if you could review my MRI report and advise me if or any symptoms could effect the mouth or throat i have severe nerve pain in my mouth and throat along with stiffness neck and shoulders and biceps…As per my Mri could you explain effacing the anterior CSF do thst refer to pushing into the CSF ..can that cause symptoms as what i was explained theres no compression on to the cord ..but if its effacing the CSF can that effect the cord as per my report..Would greatly appreciate it if you coukd share your expertise in my report…please and thank you ..The bone spur is as well the syrinx are both on the C5 C6 level…the syrinx has been stable since first d/x in 2005 …..I love your videos on youtube very educational…thank you for taking the time to write me greatly appreciated .

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 5, 2018 at 6:46 am

Post count: 8660

#28882

“Can a bone spur or SM cause severe nerve pain in mouth and throat from C5 C6”. The simple answer is no. The mouth is supplied by the cranial nerves which generally do not exit the skull. A disc disorder at C5-6 is far enough away from the cranial nerve nuclei that compression here could not affect mouth. Throat problems are only rarely affected by C5-6 and normally are only affected mechanically by a very large spur that impinges upon the esophagus.

Effacement generally means “touching” or a “slight push against” a structure. Effacing the CSF generally means nothing. This would not affect the cord by itself. Now a syrinx can be an issue especially if associated with Chiari malformation. See https://neckandback.com/conditions/chiari-malformation-type-arnold-chiari-syndrome/

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.

Laura1963
Participant

October 27, 2018 at 3:16 pm

Post count: 36

#29729

I have posterior oesphnyte partial effacement of CSF C5-c6 and mild one C3-C4 no central canal or no forminel stenosis can that cause symptoms in throat and mouth? Can the bone spur On the C3-C4 causes nerve pain on my throat or mouth ..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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