Artificial Disc Replacement
The cushioning structures between each of the vertebra of your spine are called discs. Made of tissue similar to cartilage, the discs are flexible so that your spine can bend. When one or more of your discs are damaged, it can cause significant pain and inability to perform your daily routine....
Alternatives to Open Spine Surgery
There are a variety of treatments for spinal conditions that you can try before having to resort to surgery, especially the more invasive open spine surgery. The purpose of non-surgical treatments is to decrease pain, improve mobility, and prevent future spine problems. The sooner you seek...
How to Handle Neck Pain
Neck pain is, literally, a pain in the neck! NYC Spine Surgeon Dr. Fischer at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City sees patients often complaining of neck discomfort. Sometimes it’s just a matter of obtaining a list of instructions about ways to manage neck pain at home with self-care...
Common Causes of Sciatica
If you’ve been told that you have sciatica, it is not a disease itself but a symptom of an underlying condition. Sciatica describes leg pain, often accompanied by numbness, weakness or tingling, that starts in the lower back and runs down the buttocks and sciatic nerve behind each leg. It is very...
Osteoporosis and Spinal Fractures
A condition called osteoporosis, which causes bones to thin, can lead to spinal fractures. The kind of fracture usually resulting from osteoporosis is a compression fracture, defined as a vertebral bone that decreases at least 15 to 20 percent in height because of the fracture. This can happen to...
Implant Helps Paralyzed Patients Take Steps
Managing Chronic Back Pain
When back pain lasts for 12 weeks or more, even after the initial acute pain was treated, it is referred to as chronic back pain. Roughly 20 percent of patients who experience acute back pain are still dealing with chronic back pain symptoms a year later. Chronic back pain isn’t something you...
Is Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery the Answer for my Back Pain?
Millions of people suffer from back pain, so if you are one of them, you are not alone in searching for relief. There are lots of ways that back pain can be treated, ranging from very conservative therapies to serious surgery. You may have heard of a relatively new technique for treating severe...
Conservative Treatment Approaches to Spinal Problems
The idea of back surgery will likely scare many people away, but luckily that is a last resort for treatment in most cases. If you’re experiencing back pain, numbness, weakness or other symptoms, there are lots of options for non-operative techniques that might resolve your problem. It is...
Spinal Fusion: Risks vs. Benefits
Back pain and immobility may be good enough reasons for you to consider spinal fusion surgery. No doubt you want to get your normal life back to the way it was before the nagging or sometimes debilitating symptoms of back problems began. If you’re facing the possibility of spinal fusion surgery,...