By Drs. Ian Harris, Adrian Traeger and Caitlin Jones In an episode of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “Four Corners” this week, the use of spinal cord stimulators for chronic back pain was brought into question. Spinal cord stimulators are devices implanted surgically which deliver electric impulses directly to the spinal cord. They’ve been used to treat people with chronic pain since the 1960s. Their design has changed significantly over time. Early models required an external generator and invasive surgery to implant them. Current devices are fully implantable, rechargeable and can ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor A new type of imaging technology could improve the effectiveness of spinal surgeries by allowing doctors to view high resolution images of the spinal cord during surgery. The technology, known as fUSI or functional ultrasound imaging, is currently used to track neural activity in the brain. Researchers at the University of California Riverside (UCR) and University of Southern California say fUSI could also be used during back surgery to help doctors “see” the spinal cord in real time and how it responds to electrical stimulation. That could improve the success rate of ..read more

By Drs. Sanja Schreiber and Emily Somers Cael was a typical 15-year-old — until the discovery of an already advanced abnormal curvature of his spine. “I felt like the Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Cael told CBC News, recalling the emotionally draining and gruesome two-year wait for spinal surgery during which his curve progressed to a whopping 108 degrees. Scoliosis is an abnormal twisting and curving of the spine that can develop at any age, but mostly occurs during rapid growth spurts in children, and as part of spine aging in adults over the age of 60. Of all types of scoliosis in children, ado ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor Older adults suffering from chronic low back pain experienced faster pain relief after getting a new type of physical therapy focused on strengthening their hip muscles, according to a new study. The study findings, recently reported in The Lancet Rheumatology, are notable given the limited research on back pain therapies for older adults. “Unfortunately, the societal attitude is that older people don’t warrant the same level of care that younger people do when it comes to musculoskeletal problems,” lead author Gregory Hicks, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Health Scie ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first-ever guideline for managing chronic low back pain, recommending treatments such as exercise, physical therapy, chiropractic care and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Chronic low back pain — also known as “non-specific” back pain — is defined as pain that persists longer than three months, with symptoms that cannot be accounted for by a structural spinal problem or disease process such as arthritis. Although lower back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide – affecting about 619 m ..read more

By Ann Marie Gaudon, PNN Columnist As a patient, you strive to be heard. Nowhere is this truer than when your medical issues are chronic and complex. However, when your physicians dismiss, minimize, invalidate, and/or ignore what you say, this can lead to a misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis – which can lead to your condition getting worse. Physicians rely on test results, but what if the test is an epic failure? What if there is no test at all to diagnose you? Medical providers can erroneously blame your suffering on your age, race, sexuality, gender, weight or other factors that have nothing ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The discovery of a new type of stem cell could revolutionize the treatment of spine disorders and slow the progression of some cancers, according to a groundbreaking study published in Nature. Researchers from Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Weill Cornell Medicine say the vertebral stem cells they found in human spines appear to play a key role in spinal health and in the metastasis of cancerous tumors as they spread through the body. “There are two big takeaway discoveries that were made here. One is that we have discovered a stem cell that forms the spine and ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor After receiving reports of dozens of injuries, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a Class I recall for two models of implantable neurostimulators due to a technical malfunction. The recall affects over 155,000 of Abbott’s Proclaim and Infinity devices, which are primarily used in spinal cord and deep brain stimulation. Although Class I recalls are the most serious type of recall because they may result in injuries or death, patients are not being advised at this time to have the devices surgically removed. The stimulators were implanted in some patients as far ..read more

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor A novel treatment that combines virtual reality with cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduced pain levels and other symptoms in patients with chronic back or neck pain, according to results of a new study presented at the annual meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Unlike other therapies using virtual reality (VR) – which temporarily distract people from their pain – patients in this study had long term reductions in their pain, anxiety and depression. This suggests that combining VR with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) induces neuroplasticity ..read more

By Christopher Matthews, Guest Columnist About two and a half years ago, I began to feel a tight painful knot on the side of my neck. Any movement would trigger an intense shock up the back of my skull to the top of my head. Ultrasound, MRI and X-ray scans all came back negative, so we tried anti-inflammatory medications, ice, deep tissue message, chiropractic, and some lifestyle changes. Over the next few months, the pain began radiating to my cervical spine and intensified. No OTC pain medication was touching this pain.  It felt like a hot steak knife was lodged in my back. The constant ..read more