Mark Schlereth's Pain Free Journey

Mark Schlereth suffered from severe back pain following his NFL career. He came to SpineOne to live pain free. 

Pokémon Go can be a real pain in the neck!

You may have noticed strange new creatures roaming the streets of Denver this month. They can be spotted wandering our streets, our parks, and our malls, sometimes muttering at their phones, sometimes coordinating in groups. They are the Pokémon hunters, and they’re out in the world searching for virtual critters to snare for their collections.

Pokémon Go hit the world in July and quickly became a popular new pastime. Within the smartphone-based, augmented reality game, players capture, battle, and train these virtual creatures as if they were in the same real-world location as the players.

While the game is being praised for its health benefits – bringing folks outside who would otherwise sit at home playing – the game isn’t without some risk. The stress on your neck from staring down at your phone can be a long-term hazard. Honestly, this isn’t new, and certainly isn’t unique to Pokémon Go. The condition, known as “Text Neck,” is not only real, it also poses a real risk.

Pokémon Neck? Or Text Neck?

Text Neck is what happens when you stare down or stay hunched over an activity for too long.  This posture isn’t exactly new; people have done this for centuries with books, drawings, sewing, and many other activities. The condition is referred to as “Text Neck” because the saturation of mobile devices and our cultural addiction to them have multiplied the amount of time we spend hunched over.

Your head weighs, on average, around 10 pounds. With a healthy spine, you never have to think about that weight; your neck manages it with ease. As you bend your neck forward, the stress on your cervical spine increases exponentially. Some experts say that the stress on your cervical spine doubles with every inch your head tilts down.

That’s some alarming math, when you think about the posture you use while playing games on your phone. While you’re staring down at your smartphone trying to ‘catch ’em all,’ the stress on your cervical spine can increase to 50 pounds! Now take into account that we spend around three hours a day staring at our smartphones; it adds up to extreme stress on your neck. 

Does it Hurt?

You’ve probably been staring at your device for years and haven’t noticed any problems. That’s where this condition’s insidious nature is important to understand. Its effects are subtle but cumulative. Stretching your body’s tissue for extended periods of time causes it to become sore and inflamed. Repeated stress on the vertebrae can also lead to herniated disks, pinched nerves, and eventually improper curvature of the spine. It has also been linked to headaches, other neurological issues, depression, and heart disease. These symptoms can creep up on you slowly, but chances of a negative impact on your life increase each time you hunch over your phone.

Maybe most alarming is how often we see this behavior in kids and young adults whose spines are still developing. Time will tell what the long-term effects of the increased spine pressure will be but it can possibly result in degeneration of the spine, bone spurs, and muscle deformity.

What Can I Do?

Luckily there are some steps you can take every day to minimize the impact that your mobile devices have on your spine health. Here are some suggestions­­­­­­:

Hold your phone higher

Holding your device higher and bending your neck less can dramatically reduce the strain on your cervical spine. Holding your device in this way can also improve your situational awareness so you don’t run into anything while searching for your next catch.

Stretches

Did one get away? Did you catch one? When you get a couple of minutes during your game, stop to stretch your neck and reset your brain. Tilt your head from left to right a few times. Look over your left shoulder, and then slowly turn your head to look over your right shoulder. Roll your shoulders and neck. Anything you can do to get those stiff muscles moving will pay off.

Set it Down

We all have our obsessions. So while maybe easier said than done, it’s nonetheless important to put the phone down every once in a while. Maybe a Pokémon gets away. Maybe a text message gets missed. But the benefit to your health and wellness will be worth it in the long run.

Whether you’re a rock climber, artist, or Pokémon hunter, the lesson remains the same: have fun with your passion but take care of yourself. Even taking a few minutes out of every hour to stretch and rejuvenate yourself will be worth it. There will always be more critters to catch. Happy hunting!

Learn How to Lower Your Golf Score without Lower Back Pain

As much as we would like to think so, we here at SpineOne are not golf pros, but we do have some back pain tips that likely will also shave some strokes off your game.

It’s our belief that there are two types of golfers in this world; those whom have back pain and those whom will have back pain. However, you can still enjoy the game with less pain by following these simple tips before, during and after stepping onto the tee box.

NOTE: If you already have back pain or if any of the following exercises increase your back pain, you should stop and check with a back pain specialist before continuing.

Make sure you stretch and warm up before you play. Every type of athlete warms up before competition. Golf is no different. Here are a few simple stretches you can do before you grip it and rip it (the golf club, not your back).

Figure 1: Leg Swings

1. Leg Swings (Figure 1). Standing on one leg, swing the opposite leg forward and backward while keeping your knee straight. You can use a driver for balance. Swing the leg from side to side 15 times in each direction and then switch your legs and repeat.

Figure 2: Dynamic Lunge with Reach

 2. Dynamic Lunge with Reach (Figure 2). Lunges are a great way to activate key hip muscles, and since we are golfing, we also need to kick in the upper body musculature and abdominals. To begin, take and hold a golf club at both ends and while performing a lunge and reach overhead. Complete five repetitions for each leg.

Figure 3: Dynamic Lunge and Twist

Next, lunge forward and place the golf club behind your shoulders (Figure 3). Twist your body to the right five times and to the left five times.

3. Pivot Rotations (Figures 4a and 4b). To get the hips and thoracic spine involved in the rotation, take a golf club and hold at both ends with your feet shoulder width apart. Rotate the club to each side. Allow your hips to rotate with this motion and shift your weight to the opposite toe. Complete 20 repetitions.

Figure 4b: Pivot Rotations

Figure 4a: Pivot Rotations

Club up. There is no shame in moving up a club or two to get more distance with less effort, especially if you have back pain.  It is more embarrassing to swing too hard, pull your head up and miss the ball completely only to take an early ride back to the clubhouse with a sprained back and a new appointment with your back pain and spine specialist.

Practice good body mechanics.  Good body mechanics throughout your swing not only improve your game, but they also reduce stress on your low (lumbar) back, which decreases the risk for back injury and pain.  Many golfers try to rotate through their swing at the low back.  The low back is not designed for rotation and will become very unhappy if one repeatedly rotates at their lumbar spine.

Many golfers drop their hips down, tuck in their butt and hunch their shoulders when addressing the ball, causing shear stress across the lower back.  The opposite of this position is a hyper-arched back, which over extends the back muscles, creating un-needed stress on the low back.

The best solution for swinging the club with little or no lower back rotation is to make sure your back is in a “neutral” position (Figure 5) instead of an over-extended or flexed position while addressing the ball.  This is accomplished by moving your back between these two extremes until you find a comfortable and natural posture between the two positions. This allows for rotation at the middle (thoracic) back—alleviating stress, pain and possible injury to the lower back. 

Strengthen your core. As mentioned in a previous blog, 11 Simple Exercises That Prevent Low-Back Pain, prevention is the best prescription when it comes to confronting back pain.  When you are not golfing, you can implement a few simple exercises to strengthen your abdominal and gluteal muscles.  These will help strengthen your core, increase flexibility and assist with rotation in your swing.

If chronic back pain keeps you from doing what you love to do and you are unable to find a solution, it may be time to speak to spine care specialist.  SpineOne offers a comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis and treatment plan tailored to meet the pain management needs of each individual patient. The physicians at SpineOne practice minimally invasive procedures to get you back on your feet and enjoying your life again. SpineOne provides doctor consultations, MRIs and treatments all from the same facility for your convenience. Same-day appointments are also available upon request.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, get your life back by contacting us today!

8 Stretches That Can Help Ease the Pain of Sciatica

8 Stretches That Can Help Ease the Pain of Sciatica

'Finally, a provider who wants to fix the problem instead of giving drugs and masking the symptoms.'

Michael Schneider, P.A.-C.

Read what first-time patient, Luke C., had to say about his experience at SpineOne.

'My Search Stopped at SpineOne'

Read what first-time patient, Carl C., had to say about his experience at SpineOne.

"Out of 15 years of searching for a great doctor, my search stopped at SpineOne. You have the best staff I every dealt with. I have nothing to say, except your staff and facility are top notch.  Keep up the great patient relations."  -- Carl C.

http://dlvr.it/LGVCp8 

All-Around Professionalism Found at SpineOne

Read what first-time patient, Irene A., had to say about her experience at SpineOne.

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Congratulations to the Denver Broncos!

From one home team to another...

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 WORLD-CHAMPION 

Sciatica: All You Ever Wanted to Know & More

What is sciatica?
Sciatica (also known lumbar radiculopathy) is a type of pain affecting one or more sciatic nerve roots, which extend from your lower back (lumbar spine) down into the back of each leg. 

What causes sciatica?

Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve(s) or its origins along the lumbar spine are pressured, irritated or damaged causing pain, weakness, numbness and/or tingling in the lower back and extremities. Sciatica is typically a result of other medical conditions such as a herniated disc, (Figure 1) disc degeneration or spinal stenosis.  There are also certain risk factors that may increase one’s risk of experiencing sciatica.

Figure 1: Comparison of a healthy vertebral and ruptured vertebral discs

What are the symptoms of sciatica? 

Common symptoms of sciatica:

• Lower Back pain, which may be a mild ache, or a debilitating-sharp, burning sensation
• Weakness, pain, numbness and/or tingling in the lower extremities
• Discomfort when sneezing, coughing or laughing
• Pain that may worsen at night, interrupting your sleep
• Heel walk, which is the decreased ability to bring your foot upward
• Drop foot (difficulty when flexing your ankle and bring up the front of your foot)
• Restricted ability to walk on your tiptoes, walk, drive and/or lift your heel off the ground

Figure 2: Mapped symptoms of sciatica by vertebrae number and extremity locations.

If you are experiencing any combination of these symptoms, you may have sciatica.

Watch this online video about sciatica.

How is sciatica diagnosed?
Procedures used to diagnose sciatica may include:

• A straight-leg raise test to induce pain radiating from the hip and down the leg.
• A foot-flex or Braggard’s Test to identify sciatic nerve symptoms
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to get detailed images of spinal discs. MRIs use a giant magnet that circles the body.
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan with myelogram is an X-ray used with a special dye injected into the spinal fluid. The CT scan is used to help identify the “bony” causes of spinal stenosis, while the dye helps diagnose soft tissue conditions such as disc herniation or a bulge.
• Selective nerve root block (SNRB) is when a local anesthetic is injected into a nerve root suspected of being affected by spinal stenosis. If the patient’s pain goes away after the injection, it can be determined that the compressed nerve is the cause of pain.

How is sciatica treated?
Typically, a combination of treatments works best to treat spinal stenosis. Treatment options may include:

•        Education—teaching patients spinal anatomy and basic body mechanics to help them manage their condition
•        Exercise
•        Activity modification
•        Medication
•        Physical therapy
•        Injections
•        Surgery

Does sciatica require surgery?
In some cases, surgery is required. SpineOne is dedicated to minimally invasive options whenever possible and will do everything we can to avoid surgery.

When can I expect to resume normal activities without sciatica?

Many people with sciatica are able to resume their normal activities after treatment. The goal of treatment for most patients is to have a healthy, active lifestyle free of sciatic pain. You’ll want to speak with a physician who specializes in spinal care to plan your particular treatment and get back in the swing of things.

Where can I get treatment for sciatica?
If you suffer from chronic or acute back pain and cannot find relief, you should always contact a spine specialist like the physicians at SpineOne.  SpineOne offers a comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis and treatment plan tailored to meet the needs of each individual patient. The physicians at SpineOne perform minimally invasive procedures combined with other practices to get you back on your feet and enjoying your life again.

SpineOne provides doctor consultations, MRIs and treatments all from the same facility for your convenience. Same-day appointments are also available upon request.

Visit www.SpineOne.com or call 303.500.8611 today.

Good Luck Broncos!

Good Luck to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship this Sunday!

Spinal Stenosis: All You Ever Wanted to Know and More

What is spinal stenosis?
By definition, spinal stenosis is when one’s spinal column and/or foramina (openings that branch away from the spinal canal providing pathways for root nerves) narrows—putting pressure on the spinal cord or root nerves. The word “stenosis” comes from the Greek word, “choking.” Therefore, spinal stenosis could almost be described as, “choking one’s spine.” 

Mostly affecting the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) parts of the spine, spinal stenosis can interfere with nerve function and cause pain in one’s back and/or other parts of the body. 

Watch this video about spinal stenosis

What are the symptoms of spinal stenosis?

Symptoms of spinal stenosis depend on its location and severity of the condition. Some of the most common symptoms include:

• Cervical (neck)
  • Pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the arms/hands/fingers
  • Loss of dexterity often leading to dropping items
  • Stiff or sore neck
  • Pain around the shoulder blades
  • Tremors in the arm or hand
• Lumbar (lower back)
  • Leg pain, weakness and/or numbness
  • Difficulty or poor balance when walking; clumsiness
  • Sciatica—a burning pain throughout the buttocks and down the legs
  • Increased leg pain when walking that is diminishes when resting
  • Foot pain
  • Pain in the buttocks
  • Hip pain and/or weakness

More severe cases of spinal stenosis may include loss of bladder or bowel control. Patients experiencing these symptoms should seek emergency help right away.

How is spinal stenosis diagnosed?
The most common procedures used to diagnose spinal stenosis are:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to get detailed images of spinal discs. MRIs use a giant magnetic that circles the body.
• Computerized tomography (CT) scan with myelogram is an X-ray used with a special dye injected into the spinal fluid. The CT scan is used to help identify the “bony” causes of spinal stenosis, while the dye helps diagnose soft tissue conditions such as disc herniation or a bulge.
• Selective nerve root block (SNRB) is when a local anesthetic is injected into a nerve root suspected of being affected by spinal stenosis. If the patient’s pain goes away after the injection, it can be determined that the compressed nerve is the cause of pain.

What causes spinal stenosis?
There are a number of conditions that can cause spinal stenosis, including, but not limited to, a herniated disc(s), osteoarthritis, bone diseases, a dislocated or fractured vertebral bone, thickened spinal ligaments, excess growth of bone around the spinal nerves, an injury or blunt trauma that creating pressure on the nerve roots or spinal cord, tumors in the spine and people born with a smaller spinal canal (congenital condition).

What are the different spinal stenosis treatments?
Typically, a combination of treatments works best to treat spinal stenosis. Treatment options may include:

• Exercise
• Activity modification
• Medication
• Physical therapy
• Heat and ice therapy
• Injections
• Surgery

Does spinal stenosis require surgery?
In some cases, surgery is required. SpineOne is dedicated to minimally invasive options whenever possible and will do everything we can to avoid surgery.

Where can I get treatment for spinal stenosis?
If you suffer from chronic or acute back pain and cannot find relief, you should always contact a spine specialist like the physicians at SpineOne.  SpineOne offers a comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis and treatment plan tailored to meet the needs of each individual patient. The physicians at SpineOne practice minimally invasive procedures combined with other practices to get you back on your feet and enjoying your life again. SpineOne provides doctor consultations, MRIs and treatments all from the same facility for your convenience. Same-day appointments are also available upon request.

Visit www.SpineOne.com or call 303.500.8611 today.