FAQ Category: General Spine

Avoid doing anything that makes the pain worse or carries the risk of re-injuring your back. What exercises are safe to do depends on the activity and on what exactly is wrong with your back. Your best bet is to start slowly and gradually begin doing your usual activities. If you normally do intense exercise or sports that involve twisting your back, like golf, you need to wait until your back is better. Walking and swimming are probably the best exercises for rehabilitating your back. They keep you from putting too much stress on your body, yet they get your entire body moving.

Talk with your doctor and physical therapist about how to get started on a program of exercise to help you get back to full function.

You can learn to move in ways that don’t strain your back.
* To get in and out of bed, do the “log roll” technique. When you are lying down, roll your whole body to the side, as if your body were a log. Then gently raise your torso and move your feet to the floor.
* When you sit or stand, keep your back straight and bend from the hips.
* Instead of bending at the waist, use a grabber to pick things up from the floor or putting on shoes or socks.
* When you have to bend over, don’t bend at the waist. Keep your back straight and bend forward at the hips.
* Don’t ever test your back by carrying or lifting something that’s too heavy.
* Even when you are lifting lightweight items, keep your back straight and bend your knees so that you can lift with your legs. Hold the item close to your body, no matter how light it is.

Arachnoiditis is the name for inflammation of the arachnoid layer of the meninges, a lining that covers the brain and spinal cord. This condition can happen after surgery, spine injury, or infection. Any time the meninges is punctured, even for medical procedures such as injections and spinal taps, the risks of arachnoiditis increase.

There are no good treatments for arachnoiditis. The pain can be managed, but the condition is never really cured. Some people find effective methods to handle their pain, but others find that the problem gets worse over time.

Your pain won’t necessarily increase. Changes in the spine are part of aging. Sometimes the changes cause more pain, but often they don’t. Even if you have spurs in your neck and back, the result is not necessarily increased pain. In some ways, the aging process actually can help stop pain. As your tissues lose water content and become stiffer, they generally don’t move as much. Body parts that don’t move usually don’t cause as much pain.

You are more likely to handle the changes in your spine without increased pain if you stay fit and use good posture. If you have increasing pain, make sure to see your doctor before it gets out of control.

A discogram gives a picture of an injured disc. A special kind of dye is injected into the discs before you get an X-ray. The dye shows up on a fluoroscope screen. Discograms work better than a plain X-ray or other tests because they give a better picture of the disc.

Intense athletic training and competition can hurt children’s spines. This is especially true in gymnastics. Pay attention to how much time she spends training. A recent study suggests that adolescents who spend long hours doing gymnastics are at risk for developing too much bend in the curves of their spines. This was most true in adolescents who trained hard more than 400 hours per year. 

Interdiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) is a fairly new type of procedure used for outpatient disc surgery. The surgeon uses X-rays to guide a special needle into the disc. A catheter is then put through the needle into the disc, and the needle is heated over 30 minutes. The heat makes the disc material shrink, which reduces the bulge or closes off the torn part of the disc. After surgery, patients are usually monitored for 90 minutes and then sent home. Sometimes doctors have their patients do a rehabilitation program afterwards.

Because it is a new treatment, long-term results are not known. But IDET has been shown to have good short-term benefits. IDET is most effective when the disc is definitely the painful tissue. Pain from other spinal joints or nerves aren’t helped by IDET surgery.

Yes. At this point, laser surgery for the spine is used primarily for disc problems. Lasers are not widely used now, but they appear to leave less scarring after spine surgery. A procedure called thermodiskoplasty uses lasers to shrink collagen and fibrocartilage to change the shape of the disc.

No. Bed rest is rarely prescribed and even then should only be used for very short periods, usually two days at most.  Too much bed rest can actually make your problem worse, as your muscles and joints get weaker and stiffer. The key is to help you get back to doing normal activities as early as possible.  Also, gentle exercises can actually help your pain go away. You need to work with a doctor or physical therapist to come up with a plan to help you gain confidence with exercise, movement, and activity.

There are several precautions you can take. Stay in good physical shape. Take breaks, and do some regular stretching. It is crucial for you to use good posture. You need to set up your work station in a way that lets your spine stay in proper alignment. A physical or occupational therapist or another ergonomics specialist can help you design your work station. Finally, avoid injuries to your back, and don’t smoke.

Surgeons use interdiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) to treat sore discs without harming the surrounding tissues. Because the muscles and joints stay intact, you shouldn’t lose strength in your spine. Scientists have done studies to see whether the spine weakens after a surgery like this. So far, the results suggest that spines have the same strength after IDET. You should still make sure to do the exercises your doctor prescribes after surgery. Your rehabilitation program is planned to maximize the health and strength of your back and help you avoid future problems.