Donald Corenman MD DC | Spine Surgeon Colorado

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helpme123
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October 24, 2012 at 7:52 am

Post count: 15

in reply to: MRI REPORT #7242

Thank you very much Dr Coreman, I appreciate your expert reply .

helpme123
Member

October 20, 2012 at 12:01 am

Post count: 15

in reply to: MRI REPORT #7191

Hi Dr Coreman, I was wondering if my MRI report indicating the T3-T4 would cause me to have nerve pain all over my body? If you have time to review my MRI report it would be greatly appreciated . Thank you

helpme123
Member

April 28, 2012 at 9:27 am

Post count: 15

in reply to: Can muscle spasms be detected on an x-ray #6141

Thank you again Dr Corenman I appreciate your knowledge and time .

Sincerly
Laura

helpme123
Member

April 26, 2012 at 2:53 am

Post count: 15

in reply to: Can muscle spasms be detected on an x-ray #6122

Thank you Dr Corenman, I appreaciate your time very much. I was reading abt the symptoms you wrote, I do have some stiffness across my shoulders , and pain on my back, My hands actually cannot feel texture on my skin/body anywhere, my skin actually feels like latex all over, I do feel weight, and shape, I do feel texture on anything else besides my body ,on clothing, objects I can feel the actual textur of that , but its my body dont feel right at all. My hands have pain, shooting pain, I have a shooting pain in my left arm, the bones on my fingers are painful , When I lift my hands above my head my shoulder blades are tightened, my left leg my muscle above my knee is extremly tight, my left foot has pain as well, even my the Syrinx I have is between 2mm and 3 mm can it cause any of these symptoms ? When the Radiologist wrote my Mri in 2005 he said it was 2mm x 2mm in width , the report I had previous in February was from another MRI location wrote it was 2mm to 3 mm , do that nessacary the Syrinx did change in size ? but he wrote it was still stable , So I am confused if it changed in size, can they actually know exactly the width or its an estimated guess. Thanks . I am just really scared abt what is gng on inmy body and cant seem to find anyone that can explain whats happening or finding out if theres anything else wrong.Also I want to mention that my face muscles are etremly tight, its hard at time to announce words if I am crying or smiling or laughing , I am scared and worried if any of these symptoms are permanent , my face at times senses its numb , but its not , but very tight , could that because of the neck causing these symptoms ? My hands and Face symptoms are the worst for me on top of everything else. Thanks again for reading this .

Sincerly
Laura

helpme123
Member

April 24, 2012 at 11:20 pm

Post count: 15

in reply to: Can muscle spasms be detected on an x-ray #6113

Thank you again, I had seen a Neurosurgeon a few weeks ago, as yourself he is unaware of Benzodipine withdraw /recovery, buit felt that the symptoms I am having is unrelated to the Syrinx, I am trying to understand what a Central Canal is and how large a central canal is in comparrison to the spinal cord, I keep reviewing your videos over and over , I understand a central canal runs through the spinal cord , and the CSF is inside that canal , and passes thropugh the spinal cord, so is it correct to say that the syrinx is not on the spinal cord , but inside the canal and has a cyst inside the CSF ? I have 3 letters from Drs acknowledging Benzo W/D , but its unfortunate now it seems to complicate things for me to know if this syrinx is symptommatic, it has been asymptommatic for years and years , I speak to others that have a syrinx that tells me a syrinx can cause symptoms even though its not impinging on the Spinal Cord because its still sitting on the nerves it can still cause problems , I am not sure if that the case. I had many many tests done throughout this ordeal, I had test for all markers of Inflammation , I had a ANA test , Lyme test, CBC tests, Ultrasound, X-RAYS, MRI on my head , and spinal cord , CBC test , all camme back Normal well except the nild bulging disks, and Syrinx, I keep reviewing my MRI images and trying to see any other changes from the MRI I had done in 2005. I was wondering do you have an option of uploading a MRI images for reviewing on your website here? Even though the symptoms I am presently dealing with are alot in consitance with Benzo Recovery , but I still feel its still complicated that I have this syrinx, fear that my body has been under going such tramatic stress and chemical changes and severe pain , that it can cause the syrinx to become symptomatic , I am searching for answers desperatly. Thank you again. I am seeing another Neurologist next week , he was the same one that said it was also Benzo w/d I am dealing with , and also the same one that knew I had a syrinx back in 2005, and never even mentioned it to me back in 2005 , nor I a recent visit to him last September when he said it was benzo w/d. Thanks for listening. I Love watching your videas they are very knowledgable.

Sincerly
Laura

helpme123
Member

April 24, 2012 at 5:25 am

Post count: 15

in reply to: Can muscle spasms be detected on an x-ray #6097

Thank you Dr Corneman, I appreciate your time and Knowledge. I also was wondering if you would know can having a syrinx as small as I do become symptommatic they go back to asymptommatic , As I am still I believe dealing with other issues and cause to be having symptoms of Muscle pain and bone pain , I feel as a result of that cause of these symptoms it could of also possibly caused that syrinx to become symptommatic as I am dealing with these symptoms that are steady 24-7 …

This is a list of symptoms that I am concerned about that has never left or calmed down since February of this year;

When I lift my hands above my head, the muscles on my shoulders and across all my upper mid back section is very tight and I have pain, it feels like muscle and bone pain, and when I do that I have a burning pain that feels like its coming from the muscles .

My neck feels like theres pressure like something is pushing my neck forward, and its very tight trying to turn it ‘

I also feel like the cervical verterbrae is feeling of being streched or pulled

I have a shooting pain constantly in my left arm where the intensity goes from intense to mild

The past few days I am having bursts of shooting pains across my shoulders and arms

My left leg muscles is extremly tight , its difficult crossing my left leg across my right leg

My legs especially my left leg is really heavy as well as my arms

I have been having that same burning sensation across my back , legs and arms

My face , the muscles on my face around my cheecks are really tight , when I cry I can not even say words cause its so extremly tight, especially my left cheek

It feels like all my muscles are so tight, my shoulders feel like someone is constanly pushing me downward when I turn my neck a certain way I get a burst of stinging

The scariest symptom I have is the hand pain, my hands dont feel texture any where on my body, my body feels like its covered in latex all over my body, my fingers are very painful, it feels like bone pain, and I have been having Bone pain coming from my back, shoulders etc as well, my hands ache, my wrist feels sore , and my left foot feels like bone pain on the bottom and side of my foot , I worry because I read somewhere abt the hands having symptoms from a syrinx.

Can you tell me if any of these symptoms are caused from a Syrinx ? I was wondering because coming off that medication and after I got in that hot tub back in December when I had my neck and back against the jets triggered alot of severe intense symptoms from Benzos withdrawl, , can a syrinx go into symptomatic and they calm down and go back to asymptomatic again I think that maybe thats what happened to me . I really need to know cause going through Benzo recovery you cant take any medications taht effect the Gaba receptors until they upregulate again as any medication can effect recovery. So as it is now I am not sure if I am already recovered from Benzos and I am having these symptoms from the syrinx , as I always before had symptoms come and go throughout my recovery , but the symptoms mentioned above has not left for a minute , the only one that have has been the burning it sibsides occasionally. But the muscle pain, bone pain , neck pain, arm pain, leg pain , and hand pain hasnt not sudsided at all. If its the syrinx causing this I need to try to take something for the pain , as I dont want to take any medications at all , but I am not sure what else to do or how to deal with this pain for the rest of my life. Thank you again

Sincerely
Laura
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Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 8 total)

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Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

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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helpme123

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