Perhaps the most authoritative book written pertaining to the spine is Schmorl’s and Junghanns’ The Human Spine in Health and Disease. Georg Schmorl (1861-1932) was a German physician and pathologist. Herbert Junghanns (1902-1986) was the Chief of the Occupational Accident Hospital, Surgical Clinic, and Head of the Institute for Spinal Column Research, in Frankfurt, Germany. […]
The Influence of Pre-Accident Degenerative Joint Disease
This month it’s time for us to discuss the remarkably common nature of cervical spine degenerative joint disease in the general population. In a book titled Painful Cervical Trauma, John Hopkins University School of Medicine neurosurgeon John Aryanpur, MD, states: “Degenerative spondylosis, or osteoarthritis, of the cervical spine is common in all individuals over 50 […]
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
A Common Sequela Of Neck Injuries In 1991, Denver Thoracic Outlet surgeon Richard Sanders, MD, wrote a book with the above title (1). In this months issue we are going to discuss many of Dr. Sanders’ remarkable observations… beginning with… His Definition of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) “TOS is neurovascular symptoms in the upper extremity […]
The 3 Critical Components Of A Whiplash Injury
When considering whiplash injuries, three questions are important: What are the primary tissues that are injured during whiplash trauma? Which injured tissues are responsible for chronic whiplash injury pain? Which conservative treatments are best at preventing and treating chronic whiplash injury pain? Discussions to help answer these questions are to come in the following pages. However, […]
The Potentially Devastating Effects Of ‘Low Impact’ Motor Vehicle Collisions On Spine And Joint Pain And Degeneration
Can Injury Occur In Low Impact Motor Vehicle Collisions? Today in 2008 its almost a foregone conclusion and certainly professional experience confirms that automobile accident insurance company claim adjusters, defense attorneys, and medical experts for the defense continue to proclaim that an individual within a vehicle involved in a collision cannot be injured if their […]
Anatomical Leg Length Inequality (Short Leg)
A Commonly Overlooked Component In Unresolved Back Pain In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays and radiographs. Soon thereafter, radiographs of the spine began to appear in prominent healthcare research and literature. Later in 1916, Harvard Orthopedic Surgeon Robert W. Lovett, MD, published the third edition of his book Lateral Curvature of the […]
Cervical Spondylosis and Neck Pain
British Medical Journal March 10, 2007;334:527-531 Allan I Binder, consultant rheumatologist Presenting Features of Cervical Spondylosis SYMPTOMS * Cervical pain aggravated by movement * Referred pain (occiput, between the shoulder blades, upper limbs) * Retro-orbital or temporal pain (from C1 to C2) * Cervical stiffness—reversible or irreversible * Vague numbness, tingling, or weakness in upper […]
Cervical spine manipulation alters sensorimotor integration: A somatosensory evoked potential study
Clinical Neurophysiology February 2007 Feb;118(2):391-402 Haavik-Taylor H, Murphy B OBJECTIVE: To study the immediate sensorimotor neurophysiological effects of cervical spine manipulation using somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). METHODS: Twelve subjects with a history of reoccurring neck stiffness and/or neck pain, but no acute symptoms at the time of the study were invited to participate in the […]
Pathophysiological Model for Chronic Low Back Pain
Integrating Connective Tissue and Nervous System Mechanisms Medical Hypotheses Volume 68, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 74-80 Helene M. Langevin and Karen J. Sherman The primary author is from the Department of Neurology, University of Vermont, College of Medicine. FROM ABSTRACT Although chronic low back pain (cLBP) is increasingly recognized as a complex syndrome with […]
Evaluation and Treatment of Posterior Neck Pain in Family Practice
The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice 17:S13-S22 (Nov/Dec. 2004) Alan B. Douglass, MD and Edward T. Bope, MD FROM ABSTRACT Neck pain is almost universal and is a common patient complaint. Although the differential diagnosis is extensive, most symptoms are from biomechanical sources, such as axial neck pain, whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), and […]