Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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ChelB
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August 26, 2013 at 10:55 pm

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #9279

I had an x-ray after the appointment on Thursday. He told me that no news is good news and that I would only hear back from them if it showed any problems. He was aware of my problem with my hand, though when I was there, it wasn’t tingling as much as it was the previous couple days. I thought maybe I pushed myself too hard and he agreed.

I’m sort of bothered by the fact that my symptoms seem to be exactly what they were previous to surgery, especially with the greatest numbness & tingling being in my thumb and index finger. I just can’t understand what changed. I was doing really well.

I’ve placed a call to his office and am waiting to hear back from someone.

ChelB
Member

August 24, 2013 at 9:13 pm

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #9268

Thank you for replying to all of my previous questions. Unfortunately, I am coming back with more questions. It has been 5 months since my ACDF at C4-7. I was doing very well for the most part except for residual numbness in my thumb and index finger. About a week ago, I began getting tingling, burning and numbness in my entire right hand with pain behind my shoulder blade. It seems to be all of my fingers except for my pinky (though that sometimes feels numb). At times the tips of my fingers in my left hand feel numb as well in addition to intermittent tingling in my feet. I first attributed this to adding in light strength training and thought I over did it. I even saw my neurosurgeon this week and he agreed. He released me from his care after this appointment. However, I haven’t exercised in 5 days and this seems to be getting worse.

Is it possible that I’m having a flare-up? Could it be my nerves healing? Or worse yet, should I be concerned that this is more serious? Once again, I’m feeling panicky. I appreciate any insight you may be able to provide.

Thanks,
Michele

ChelB
Member

June 4, 2013 at 2:04 am

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #8785

Thanks for all of your previous help and guidance.

I have a few questions about physical therapy that I hope you can help me with. I had my first appointment this week (10 weeks post-op c4-7 acdf. Additionally, I wore an Aspen collar 24/7 for 9 1/2 weeks) and was given some exercises to do at home. They are basic moving my head exercises such as turning my head left/right, chin to chest and extending up as well as ear to shoulder. They are absolutely excruciating. My range of motion is awful but it’s so upsetting how little I can move without feeling pain. Is this normal? Do I push through the pain or will I make it worse? The PT told me to move to strain not to pain but it’s all pain. I go back later today but I’m really nervous. Also, since starting these exercises, I am experiencing more tingling and numbness in both hands. What is normal? What kind of range of motion should I currently have? Thanks.

ChelB
Member

April 8, 2013 at 7:45 pm

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #8372

Thanks for your response. It’s very much appreciated. It’s hard to give up something that I love but at the same time, I don’t want to go through this again, especially with additional levels. With time, I’ll see what I will & won’t be able to do. As for kettlebells, it sounds like explosive movements such as the swing, overhead swing and snatch are out. I’m thinking with time, I will be able to do goblet squats, dead lifts, one arm rows and lunges and exercises of that type? I’ll also ask about workouts such as Insanity. As far as I know, it uses only body weight though I’m not sure if it will be too much of a high impact workout for me. I live in a rural area that doesn’t have any gyms. The nearest one is 30 minutes away. For someone that works full-time and has kids in school and extracurricular activities, this isn’t an option for me. While walking has been great so far, I want to challenge myself with more.

ChelB
Member

April 7, 2013 at 4:43 am

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #8360

Hi Dr. Corenman,

I wanted to update my situation and ask a few questions. I had a 3 level ACDF (c4-c7) on 3/19. I am now 18 days post-op. The surgery went very well and I’m happy with how I am doing. I have worked my way up to walking 4-5 miles per day (on the treadmill at 4.5 mph). I am also making sure to eat a high protein diet with lots of vitamin c, which I heard is great for healing. I have logged in to work remotely and done work from home (as I’m not yet back to work). I have my 1st post-op appointment this week. Again, I come back to questions on exercise. I will discuss all of these things at my appointment too since they personally have knowledge of my medical issues ~ which is only this recent surgery.

I have said before that I was running a lot ~ half marathons, 15K’s and smaller races. I was told that half marathons were out of my future. After much sadness, I decided I could live with this. However, in your opinion, do you think it would be safe to run a few (3-4) miles, say two times per week? I would hate to give up running in its entirety. Running provides as much for me emotionally and psychologically as it does physically. I do however think it will be cool to find new exercises or sports that I can love – maybe the elliptical and spinning or biking. I have also been into kettlebells (which I do at home). Do you think I will be able to get back to kettlebells in the future? Will I always have weight restrictions? Will I ever be able to do overhead exercises with my kettlebells?

I appreciate whatever insight you can give me!

ChelB
Member

February 24, 2013 at 8:19 am

Post count: 8

in reply to: Scared about MRI results #8073

Dr. Corenman,

I saw my 2nd neurosurgeon this week. He said the only way for this to get resolved is with surgery. He also told me I shouldn’t run again…that it is too much on the spine. He told me I should find exercise that has less impact than running. Part of me understands this and part of me doesn’t want to believe this. If I were to pick up running again after surgery (which he said he would do ACDF on c4-7), would I really be putting myself at risk to herniate discs above and below the fusion? Obviously, this is not what I want to do. In the big scheme of life, I have two kids that I want to be healthy for but I am having a hard time with the thought of never running again. I enjoy it with every fiber of my being. If you could shed some light I would be so grateful.

Thanks.
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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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ChelB

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