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mohsinaliasdf
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August 10, 2012 at 1:30 am

Post count: 11

#6709

Hi doctor my name is mohsin Ali I posted in the stand up mri vs regular MRI . I got my mris done and I’m waiting for your reply

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 10, 2012 at 3:10 pm

Post count: 8660

#6716

I apologize for not responding more quickly but I am unclear of your request. Did you send films to my office? If so, did you call to check if my nurses received them?

If I do have your films, it does occasionally take some time to read them and respond as I do receive many films and requests.

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.

mohsinaliasdf
Member

August 11, 2012 at 10:16 am

Post count: 11

#6726

I’m sorry I wasn’t clear enough . Well actually Dr I got mris done for c spine t spine and l spine it showed some abnormality. I have posted the results of the MRI under in the back pain forum under the topic standard MRI vs stand up MRI . I went to an orthopedist and he took a look at them !nd he barely took 1 minute to address the issue he then went on saying don’t worry about it and I kept expalaining how the MRI might’ve not shown all of my problems .overall he was very arrogant. I will try to once agin explain my problems. I will start with each section of the back starting with the cervical. I have very sharp deep pain the upper neck near the skull of the headit feels like a vertebrae is loose because with little movement of the neck there is crunching clicks and pops . it is also very stiff and feels heavy like I can’t keep my neck straight for more than a minute .it gives me dizziness and headache to the extent that I feel faint.alongside I have numbness on one side of my head with burning down into my arms legs . now I have problems all over the back but specifically when I try to look down I get such a bad burn in the whole back that penetrates down into my tighs and calves . it feels like I have some nerve issue with possiably a fracture that causes the clicks. Now ill describe my middle upper back . there is sharp electrica ltrobbing pain in the mid back near the shoulder blades its really bad I can barely stand longer than a minute or sit striaght . this part of my back is the worst because even breathing in causes my back to snap . I can literaaly hear it and I know the location of it .when I touch it its very tender and hurts . the shoulder balde muscles feels as if they are torn apart of the spine and can’t be flxed anyhow . when I try to move in and pull my shoulders together my spine cracks first in the bottom after which it aches and then I feel it radiate up to my neck causing the same and then the middle spine . It’s driving my crazy because my life has been stopped compltely from this pain. Just a week ago I started noticing a new symtpm on my right rib and its specially happens when I move sideways to the right breath I hear a loud grind pop like if the rib bone contracted with another one . as for the middle back when I sit more than five minutes my back gets very stiff and I start to feel dizzy due to the slams that occur at that time and my rib bones feels as if they became very tight with the sides of the back . I’m really starting to worry because my doctors don’t know what to do . Now my lower back is the deep dull achy type of pain. . I cNt move bend flex walk or stand as it puts pressure on my lower back . The sacroilliac joints are very painfull as well they radiate burning sensations down to both legs all the way down . when I attemp to move left or right the joints snap so loud and hard that it moves the rest of my body . I don’t know how and what where to associate the pain from. It all started after a gym injury and with very strenous overuse and bad form . I’ve had mris done without constrast and it didn’t show anything major as to my problems but my concern is whether I should get more further special testing . What is your suggestion that I do because I can’t live from it. Please help doctor . I have a copy of the films and I would like you to view them . I also have the pictures . Can I post both of them online or only the pics are compatible to view . I will wait for your kind response .

mohsinaliasdf
Member

August 11, 2012 at 10:19 am

Post count: 11

#6727

LUMBAR SPINE History: Lymes disease. Rheumatoid arthritis. Pain.

Multiplanar multisequence noncontrast MRI of the lumbar spine. Multiple images degraded by motion artifact. No priors.

Findings:

There is no marrow replacement process, compression fracture or spondylolisthesis. No evidence of intrathecal, paraspinal or retroperitoneal mass.

L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc bulges are present. No herniated nucleus pulposus, central canal or neural foramen stenosis.

Impression:

L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc bulges. No herniated nucleus pulposus or stenosis.

cervical spine;

History: Lymes disease. Rheumatoid arthritis. Pain.

Multiplanar multisequence noncontrast MR the cervical spine. CSF pulsation phenomenon is present. No priors.

Findings:

Visualized intracranial contents. Unremarkable. There is no definitive evidence of altered intramedullary signal, intrathecal or paraspinal mass. There is no marrow replacement process, compression fracture or spondylolisthesis.

Straightening of the cervical lordosis is present. There is a shallow C6-C7 disc bulge. No herniated nucleus pulposus, central canal or neural foramen stenosis.

Impression:

1. Straightening of cervical lordosis may reflect muscle spasm.

2. Shallow C6-C7 disc bulge. No herniated nucleus pulposus or stenosis.

Thank you for the courtesy of this referral.

thoracic spine:

Clinical History: Back pain.

Multiple MRI tomographic scans of the thoracic spine were performed in the coronal, sagittal and transaxial planes utilizing multiple pulse sequences. The study reveals all thoracic vertebral bodies are maintained in height. There is no evidence of fracture, marrow replacement process, spinal stenosis or intrathecal mass.

The dorsal cord is seen segmentally and is unremarkable. There are no protrusional disc bulges or herniations demonstrated.

Impression: Normal MRI of the thoracic spine.

Thank you for the courtesy of this referral.

please take a look at them

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

August 11, 2012 at 10:06 pm

Post count: 8660

#6731

You need to keep the threads of information together so that I have a clear, continuous line of information. Putting the MRI findings in a different thread makes it very difficult for me to follow your personal information.

Your complaints of; “I have very sharp deep pain the upper neck near the skull of the headit feels like a vertebrae is loose because with little movement of the neck there is crunching clicks and pops . it is also very stiff and feels heavy like I can’t keep my neck straight for more than a minute .it gives me dizziness and headache to the extent that I feel faint.alongside I have numbness on one side of my head with burning down into my arms legs” could go along with degenerative facet disease in the upper neck. If this is the case, facet blocks (see website) can lead to a correct diagnosis. The MRI will not be sensitive enough to pick up mild to moderate facet disease.

The radiology reports note a history of Lyme disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Lyme disease can cause neuropathy which can cause your symptoms and rheumatoid arthritis can also cause your symptoms. You need a rheumatologist to help make that determination.

You low back pain could be from the mild degenerative disc disease at L4-5 and L5-S1 but your symptoms of “Now my lower back is the deep dull achy type of pain. . I cNt move bend flex walk or stand as it puts pressure on my lower back . The sacroilliac joints are very painfull as well they radiate burning sensations down to both legs all the way down . when I attemp to move left or right the joints snap so loud and hard that it moves the rest of my body” does not fit with the MRI findings.

The thoracic pain you experience does not fit with your complaints of “there is sharp electrica ltrobbing pain in the mid back near the shoulder blades its really bad I can barely stand longer than a minute or sit striaght . this part of my back is the worst because even breathing in causes my back to snap . I can literaaly hear it and I know the location of it .when I touch it its very tender and hurts . the shoulder balde muscles feels as if they are torn apart of the spine and can’t be flxed anyhow . when I try to move in and pull my shoulders together my spine cracks first in the bottom after which it aches and then I feel it radiate up to my neck causing the same and then the middle spine “.

Because of multiple complaints that are not supported by your MRI findings, I suspect that your pain is more from an inflammatory process such as Lyme disease or rheumatoid arthritis. Again, a rheumatologist is going to be your best consult.

Dr. Corenman

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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