Vertebral column

A herniated disk is a problem with one of the rubbery cushions or also known as a disk. A disk has a soft center and a hard covering. These are sometimes called a slipped disk or a ruptured disk. A herniated disk occurs with the inside of the disk pushes out through a tear into the hard part of the disk. It can affect the nervous around it. Which causes the pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. In some cases some people do not have symptoms from a herniated disk. They also most likely do…

The claimant works as a truck driver. He had an injury on 08/28/2017 while he was tying down loads, he suddenly felt low back pain. He was unable to perform his work the following morning. MRI of the lumbar spine dated 09/13/2017 showed desiccation of disc at the L4-L5 level with circumferential disc bulge and mild degenerative change facets. There was a mild bilateral bony neural foraminal narrowing at the L4-L5 level with possible but not definite L4 nerve root impingement. The tip of the…

How you sleep may be harming your back Sleeping posture may affect the alignment of your spine. You should be aware of how each position could be affecting your spine alignment adversely. Sleeping on your side Sleeping on your side takes conscious positioning. The danger with sleeping on your side is that you could twist or strain the back if your hips, back, and shoulders are not in alignment. To align the body and prevent straining the back, you should put a pillow between your knees and put…

What You Should Know About Having Spinal Fusion Surgery If you've had an injury to your spine that's made it unstable or fractured, it's probably giving you a lot of pain. The pain occurs because portions of your spine move independently of each other and they can pinch nerves and tissues when they are out of alignment. Your doctor may suggest a spinal fusion to correct the problem and decrease your pain. Here's a quick overview of this medical procedure. Fusing Your Spine With A Bone Graft…

conduit of blood flow and nerve impulses between the brain and the rest of the body. In spite of this essential function, it's highly vulnerable to injury, particularly the carotid and vertebral arteries. The carotid artery is close to the surface of the neck and can be injured by blunt trauma. Both the carotid and vertebral arteries can be injured by rapid or violent motions of the neck or when it's hyper extended. A highly dangerous injury occurs when a tear inside the wall of an artery…

Scoliosis has affected many people around the world, but not many people know what it actually is. Scoliosis is a health condition where the spine of someone is curved, either curving side to side, or a “bending over” curvature. Scoliosis affects many people around the world. More then half of the people who have scoliosis are not aware that they even have it. Scoliosis mostly starts to happen at the growth spurt right before puberty. “While scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral…

One beautiful, sunny day in late fall when the leaves were changing colors and there was a little chill in the air, my sister and I were in her jeep with our mom scouring the area for sales. Tonya, my sister, treated us to Hardees biscuits to eat while on our search. We were all excited about different items we purchased from the various sales. The day was feeling like another normal day to look for yard sales with my family. As I stared out the window, thoughts of the peaceful day flooded my…

Scoliosis is a spinal deformity which affects more than four million people in the United States alone. Scoliosis causes the spine to rotate and curve. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a type of scoliosis with no known cause found in people over the age of ten. When patients reach skeletal maturity, they have instead idiopathic scoliosis as they are no longer adolescent. As adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has no known cause, it is the most scientifically important type. Without knowing a cause…

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) was first identified by Sir Ashley Cooper in 1921 and was further evaluated by Rob and Standeven in 1958 (McKenzie). Thoracic outlet syndrome is a nonspecific diagnosis that refers to an array of conditions caused by compression of the neurovascular structures that pass through the thoracic outlet (Nichols). These conditions can be named based on their location of compression or the cause of symptoms (McKenzie). Factors that predispose patients to the development…

Scoliosis is an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine. While people without the condition have normal curves in their back, it should appear straight when looking from the front. However, people with the condition develop additional curves to either side of the body, and the bones of the spine twist on each other, forming a “C” or an “S” shape in the spine. The larger the curve is generally increases the risk for it to worsen overtime. S-shaped curves commonly tend to get worse overtime then…