weird symptoms

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nothingwithoutchrist
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October 20, 2011 at 8:38 am

Post count: 4

#5028

Hello Dr. Corenman. I hope you’ve been well.

Actually lately, I have been experiencing a weird pain in my lower right side in my back that does not go down my buttock or leg anymore, but does go toward my hip area (I hope that makes sense)… my lower back also becomes stiff when I sit for more than 30 mins and then that pain in my lower right side starts ‘shooting’.

I have also been experiencing the same sharp pain in my left lower side in my back that does not go down my buttock or anything.. ?

My left foot is never numb, but my right one is at times (every few days when I’ve sat down for a long period). I experience all that even when I’m resting in bed!

Do I have facet syndrome or what?

Please help!

God bless!

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 20, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Post count: 8660

#5030

Your symptoms could be associated with a facet disorder but more likely this is degenerative disc disease (DDD). The radiation into the hip is not uncommon with L5-S1 or L4-L5 degeneration. A back that “stiffens up” after prolonged sitting is also typical with DDD.

The occasional “numb foot” could be from a positional compressed nerve or from the knee or even the foot itself.

A good core strengthening program may help the back pain.

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.

nothingwithoutchrist
Member

October 21, 2011 at 11:05 pm

Post count: 4

#5032

Hello Dr. Corenman.

Is DDD the same thing as a herniated disc?

Also, what do you mean by a ‘positional’ compressed nerve? Does that mean that the nerve is compressed due to poor posture, or is it compressed because of the Disc?

Thanks.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 21, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Post count: 8660

#5033

Degenerative disc disease or DDD for short simply means that the disc wall has a tear in it. This occurs because the central “jelly” (nucleus) has lost pressure similar to air leaking out of a car tire. A tire low on air causes bulging of the side walls of the tire and eventual tearing because of abnormal loading.

This tear of the wall of the disc causes degenerative disc disease. This tear can cause a bulge of the wall (a bulging disc) or if a complete through and through tear, a disc hernation if the jelly is pushed through the tear in the disc.

If this disc herniation causes compression of the nerve root, leg pain will occur. Not all herniations compress the nerve root so leg pain is not inevitable with a herniation.

The spinal canal changes in volume with different positions. Bending forward will open the exit hole for the nerve root and open the spinal canal. If the nerve root is compressed in the exit hole, bending forward will relieve pain and standing up (which causes narrowing of the exit hole) will increase the pain. That is a “positional compressed nerve”.

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.

nothingwithoutchrist
Member

December 17, 2011 at 7:56 am

Post count: 4

#5233

Hello Dr. Corenman.

Over the last few weeks, my lower back would just stiffen up after a very short time of sitting. And now I rarely experience pain in one side of my lower back area. (which used to be my right side)

Also when I sit down for a long period of time, my whole lower back (specifically in the middle back) stiffens up, I asked a spine specialist about it and he said I needed to do a couple of exercises, and I’ve been doing them for a week but no improvement.

He also said that I seemed to be having muscle problems not associated with Disc or facet syndrome (I was diagnosed with 2 discs almost 3 years ago and this specialist was the one who read my MRI X-rays).

Dr. Corenman, I have also been experiencing tremendous pain in my neck. I get very little sleep because of it along with my back pain. If I sleep on a particular side, the pain starts in it (my neck) and I have tried many pillows but no point.

One last thing, my lower back also hurts and sometimes stiffens up when I’m in bed in an appropriate posture.. what is going on with my spine?

Thank you so much!

God bless you!

-nothingwithoutchrist

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

December 17, 2011 at 12:17 pm

Post count: 8660

#5234

Stiffness in the lower back with prolonged stationary positioning is the hallmark of degenerative disc disease. I cannot comment on “muscular problems” not associated with disc or facet syndrome. The only spinal muscle problems (pain and spasm) not related to degenerative spine problems are either overuse (too much gardening early in the season), trauma or systemic problems such as polymyalgia rheumatica.

I would agree that there are specific exercises that can help. Ask you doctor if there is a pilates trained physical therapist that can rehabilitate you.

You neck is a different subject and may have its own set of problems.

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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