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At What Point Should You Begin to Consider Bulging Disc Surgery?

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Bulging disc surgery is a Bulging disc surgeryperfectly legitimate option for alleviating the debilitating symptoms often associated with spinal nerve compression if – and this is a big “if” – the symptoms remain stubbornly unaffected by the potential benefits of a well-planned regimen of conservative, nonsurgical treatment. The fact is, more than 90 percent of patients who experience nerve compression related to a bulging disc need never consider surgery. And of the small minority who do consider it, many find through a second or third medical opinion that another, nonsurgical option had been overlooked or ignored. Who, then, should actually consent to surgical treatment for a bulging disc?
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How to Treat Spinal Stenosis While You’re at Work

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How to treat spinal stenosisLearning how to treat spinal stenosis can be difficult enough, and managing the symptoms of pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness that can travel through your spine and extremities is even more frustrating. So what do you do when you’re at work, are trying to be productive, but the nagging symptoms of spinal stenosis are distracting you? For most people with mild to moderate spinal stenosis, taking time off work when symptoms flare up simply isn’t an option, so it’s important to learn how you can manage symptoms while on the job.

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Understanding the Benefits of Laser Spine Procedures

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Laser spine proceduresIf you’re researching laser spine procedures as an option to treat your back or neck pain, it can be helpful to learn and understand the benefits of laser spine surgery as they compare to open spine surgery before you make a final decision. These two approaches to surgery are similar in that the main goal is to relieve pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness caused by pressure on nerves in the spine. Several common conditions and anatomical abnormalities can cause spinal nerve irritation, such as a herniated or bulging disc, bone spur, osteoarthritis, or calcified ligament in the spine.

A laser spine procedure takes a minimally invasive approach and involves the insertion of an endoscope (camera with light), a laser, and small surgical tools through a small incision in the back or neck to access the affected area. An open spine operation, however, is highly invasive, requiring a large incision in the neck, throat, stomach, or back, the dissection of soft tissues to access the spine, and the removal of spinal anatomy where necessary.
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Contaminated Epidural Steroid Injections Lead to Deadly Fungal Meningitis

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New England Compounding Center (NECC) - fungal meningitis outbreak and epidural steroid injections

Contaminated steroids used in epidural steroid injections for neck pain linked to fourteen fungal meningitis deaths so far.

The number of patients now thought exposed to the potentially contaminated methylprednisolone acetate causing an outbreak of deadly fungal meningitis has risen to some 14,000 according to the CDC. Around 12,000 individuals have so far been contacted to explain the risk after they received the potentially contaminated epidural steroid injections for neck pain or a steroid injection into a joint such as the knee, shoulder or ankle. Epidural steroid injections for cervical spinal stenosis are sometimes used to relieve inflammation in pain, although lumbar spinal stenosis injections are more common for back pain as such injections can be problematic at the best of times in the complex area of the cervical spine. Read more

Neck Pain, Numbness and Tingling in the Arms

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neck pain and arm tingling

Localised nerve compression can cause neck pain and tingling in the arms.

Neck pain, numbness and tingling in the arms often go together and may be the result of a pinched nerve in the neck due to a herniated disc, cervical spinal arthritis, or other condition causing inflammation and spinal stenosis. Oftentimes, those with neck pain who also have weakness, numbness and tingling in the arms and hands do not connect the symptoms but such signs need early attention in order to address cervical spinal problems as soon as possible. Read more

Stem Cell Therapy for Degenerative Spine Conditions of the Neck

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Stem cell therapyIf you read the newspaper, watch the news, or listen to the radio, stem cell therapy is likely something that you’ve heard about, but is stem cell science simply confined to the laboratory, or is it actually a phenomenon that could apply to your life and your health? If you suffer from chronic back or neck pain due to degenerative spine conditions, learning more about stem cell research and recent advances in stem cell treatments may help broaden your outlook on the types of therapies that are available to you. Read more

Can You Golf With a Bulging Disc in Your Neck?

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Bulging disc in the neckA bulging disc in the neck is not necessarily symptomatic but neck pain and other symptoms can arise when a cervical nerve root becomes compressed by a bulging disc. Playing golf with a bulging disc in the neck may, therefore, become virtually impossible. Anyone who plays golf knows that success on the course depends on the ability to repeat a smooth, integrated swing. This requires coordinated body movement from head to toe, which is hard to maintain if a bulging disc is causing a pinched nerve in the neck or any other part of the spine.
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What Causes Degenerative Disc Disease in the Neck?

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Degenerative Disc Disease in the NeckIf you have degenerative disc disease in your neck (or the cervical region of the spine), you should know that the condition is a fairly common cause of neck pain. It is characterized by the dehydration and weakening of your intervertebral discs over time and the normal wear and tear process. Although many individuals aren’t aware of it, most people in their 50s and 60s will have some evidence of disc degeneration, but this does not mean they will be diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. The condition also can affect patients in their 20s and 30s if other factors lead to the early deterioration of the discs.

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Herniated Disk in the Neck Conservative Treatment

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Herniated Disk in NeckIn cases of a herniated disc in the neck, conservative treatments are usually the first course of action and are commonly used for at least six months prior to more invasive surgical therapy being suggested.  Disc herniation can cause direct spinal nerve compression and irritation to the nerves by exposure to the pro-inflammatory nucleus pulposus material leaking from the disc.  Read more

Stiff Neck from the Flu

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Stiff Neck Flu

Fever, neck pain and stiffness can be signs of meningitis - or the flu.

When you have a cold or the flu you’ll often find that your whole body aches, sometimes it’s even the first symptom,
before the congestion, cough, or nausea begin. Why does this happen? Why does your neck become stiff and swollen and why does it hurt?

There are a number of reasons why you may end up with a stiff neck that ache during a cold or flu infection. Firstly, your lymph nodes, an important part of your immune system, are likely to become enlarged and your neck is one of the places in the body where there is an abundance of lymph tissue. This swelling can often be felt under your jaw-line and cause both jaw pain itself as well as more widespread neck pain. Read more