PLEASE READ MY MRI

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 27, 2018 at 6:19 pm

Post count: 8660

#29730

C4 nerve (C3-4 level) can cause side of the neck pain and inferior jaw pain which includes the throat but this would be an unusual presentation. C4 radiculopathy should not cause mouth pain. None-the-less, a selective nerve root block of the C4 nerve root with temporary relief of symptoms would help to indicate that this root irritation is at least causing some of the symptom origins.

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 8:02 pm

Post count: 36

#29731

Thank you Dr Coleman ..I enjoy watching your videos very informative.your amaxing ….This is my actual MRI report

My MRI report says this

The cerebellar tonsils are in normal location
Thin Nonexpanasile area of highT2 Signal seen at the level of C5 C6, There is a disc desiccation involving all cervical discs , similar compared to previous.

C2-C3 ..No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

C3-C4 Mild posterior osteochondral with partial effacement of the anterior CSF..No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

C4-5 No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

C5-C6 Posterior osteochondral bar with partial effacement of the anterior CSF..No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

C7-T1 No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

Interpretation

No central canal or neural foraminal stenosis

Similar appearance compared to previous.This includes nonexpansile thin high signal centrally within the cord at level C5 C6 , POSSIBLY a small syrinx as well as some degenerative change described

My symptoms is alot off nerve pain and inflammation inside my mouth and throat and sometimes in the back of my neck but mostly mouth and throat ..If my report says no central canal or foramina stenosis do that mean there’s no impingements ? And how likely can it cause the pain in my mouth and throat .? I get shotting sharp pains as well in my head ..it moves around …but my concern mostly is mouth and throat ..the symptoms are exact same in my throat as is in my mouth …but at time my mouth will still have constant nerve pain 24-7..Thank you again I truly appreciate your advice and opinion very much

Laura1963
Participant

October 27, 2018 at 11:25 pm

Post count: 36

#29732

Dr Corneman when the report says similar do that actually mean same as previous report or do it mean similar but not identical that it could be some changes ..Just don’t know if there’s an actual slight change from previous report done in June or it’s exact same ..Thank you

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 28, 2018 at 5:49 pm

Post count: 8660

#29737

According to the radiologist, you have no nerve or cord impingement. This means that your symptoms could not originate from the neck. You might have trigeminal neuralgia, a neurological condition of the fifth cranial nerve. A visit to a neurologist or ENT doc would be in order.

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 28, 2018 at 7:06 pm

Post count: 36

#29738

Thank you again …i seen an neurologist he said it’s not trigeminal nerve damage as all the symptoms I have in my mouth and throat is wide spread entire body …it started after I cold turkey off a medication that I should of never put on in the first place was given Klonopin for four and half months for menopause symptoms never been on any medication in my entire life before that or after cold turkey off 2mg and after 2 months on it I started to get these symptoms didn’t realize it was from that drug ..My mouth throat neck shoulders and biceps are extremely stiff since never had this ever in my entire life prior to that drug …I just needed to rule out if any of this was from my neck ..Thank you so much for ruling this out ..it gives me a piece of mind …I am so grateful for your expert advice and opinion ..thank you again …I recommend others to go to your website and watch your you tubes …

Laura1963
Participant

June 22, 2023 at 5:01 am

Post count: 36

#35677

Hi Dr Coreman ,

Can retrolisthesis grade 1 , as per my report cause nerve pain in my mouth or throat this MRI was in 2020

TECHNIQUE: Multiplanar, multisequence MR images of the cervical spine were acquired without intravenous contrast.

FINDINGS:

VERTEBRAL BODIES: Grade 1 retrolisthesis of C5 on C6. The alignment is otherwise maintained. Small superior

endplate Schmorl’s nodes at T1 and T2.

MARROW SIGNAL: No concerning focal marrow lesion is identified

DISCS: Multilevel disc dessication with variable loss in height.

CORD: There is mild focal prominence of the central canal at C5-C6. Otherwise, the cord is normal in morphology and

signal.

Individual levels as follows:

C2-C3: No significant spinal canal or neuroforaminal stenosis. No significant facet arthropathy.

C3-C4: No significant spinal canal or neuroforaminal stenosis. No significant facet arthropathy.

C4-C5: No significant spinal canal or neuroforaminal stenosis. No significant facet arthropathy.

C5-C6: Posterior disc osteophyte complex with a central disc protrusion and bilateral uncovertebral arthrosis resulting in

mild bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing, as well as partial effacement of the ventral CSF space. No significant facet

arthropathy.

C6-C7: No significant spinal canal or neuroforaminal stenosis. No significant facet arthropathy.

C7-T1: No significant spinal canal or neuroforaminal stenosis. No significant facet arthropathy.

OTHER: Visualized posterior fossa is normal. Soft tissues are unremarkable.

IMPRESSION:

Mild degenerative change without severe spinal canal stenosis or neuroforaminal narrowing.

Mild focal prominence of the central canal at C5-C6. Otherwise, no significant cord signal abnormality

This was my follow up January 2023

Just want to.be sure that there’s no issues from the Retrolisthesis is causing the nerve pain in my mouth on my tongue or upper pallets ..or throat inflammation or nerve pain

Thank you Dr Coreman for your time and expertise ..Greatly appreciated

Sincerely Laura
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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

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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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