Cervical Fusion versus Disc Replacement Surgery

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Chronic neck and back pain can lead to serious health problems if they remain untreated.
When patients come to us with neck and back pain, we often discover through MRI that they suffer from
a herniated disc.

After screening the patients, we typically start with non-operative methods to relieve the suffering and
improve their posture. Such treatments include but are not limited to: physical therapy, rest,
medication, braces, and spinal injections.

When such non-operative methods are not enough to improve the health of our patients, fortunately
we can operate on the spine to improve their condition.
Two main surgical procedures are available to us.
Cervical fusion as a surgery has been used for decades. It is tested and true. It can improve patients’
quality of lives in little time.
More recently, we started offering a disc replacement surgery. Which is the latest cutting-edge
technology in treating herniated discs.
Some of the advantages of a disc replacement are there is less chance of future damage to the spine near
the herniated disc that has been repaired/replaced.
In this video, Dr. Joseph Shehadi Neurosurgeon at Neurosurgery Associates in Columbus Ohio took the
initiative of educating us on the different techniques used in treating the spine. Both nonoperative and
operative measures, as well as their particularities. All in about a minute.

 

He sheds light on the main differences between cervical fusion and a disc replacement surgery.
He will be providing more educative videos that address the fascinating world of neurosurgery.

 

You can ask Dr. Shehadi questions by contacting him at his office or by using the contact page.

 

What is intermittent fasting

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Neurosurgery Associates intermittent fasting

Weight control is something that most people struggle with at one point or another.

If you follow trending diets, you have probably heard about a plethora of them. Namely:

Low-carbohydrate diets such as Atkins, Duncan and South Beach.

Low-fat diets such as McDowell’s starch diet.

Crash diets such as the Beverly Hills Diet.
Detox Diets such as juice fasting.

And the low calories diets such as Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers.

The intermittent fasting diet belongs to the low calories type but the focus is more on WHEN to eat over WHAT to eat.

Neurosurgery Associates blog pictures

There are several diets that fall within the intermittent fasting branch.

However, we will focus on the 5:2 method in this article.

The method gained popularity in 2012 following to the BBC article named ‘The Power of intermittent fasting’.

And you can also watch the documentary ‘Eat, Fast and live longer’.

intermittent fasting

So what exactly is the 5:2 fasting program?

As the name suggests, for 5 days in a given week, you can have your normal calories intake and then fast for two NON-CONSECUTIVE DAYS. And during those fasting days, you can still eat one meal that consists of a maximum of 600 calories.
Track your weight and avoid endurance sports during diet days.

What is particularly interesting about intermittent fasting, is that it decreases fat while maintaining muscle mass.

A study that was published in the Journal of Translational Medicine in 2016 showed promising results

‘After 8 weeks, the 2 Way ANOVA (Time * Diet interaction) showed a decrease in fat mass in TRF compared to ND (p = 0.0448), while fat-free mass, muscle area of the arm and thigh, and maximal strength were maintained in both groups. Testosterone and insulin-like growth factor 1 decreased significantly in TRF, with no changes in ND (p = 0.0476; p = 0.0397). Adiponectin increased (p = 0.0000) in TRF while total leptin decreased (p = 0.0001), although not when adjusted for fat mass. Triiodothyronine decreased in TRF, but no significant changes were detected in thyroid-stimulating hormone, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, or triglycerides. Resting energy expenditure was unchanged, but a significant decrease in respiratory ratio was observed in the TRF group.’

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Back pain during Pregnancy. Possible causes and treatments

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A pregnant woman is more at risk to develop back pain

Naturally, as a woman gets pregnant her body starts gaining weight and experience changes that may result in back pain.

We will list five common causes for such pains and what can be done to improve the quality of life during those 9 precious months where women have to cope with so many life changes happening at the same time.

1- Extra weight accumulated during pregnancy is added to the spine. This extra weight causes extra strain on the spine.

2- Posture adaptation. As a result of the rapid local accumulation of weight, a posture deformation occurs to compensate for the new center of gravity of the body. Such shift causes back pain.

3- Release of the hormone Relaxin. This hormone once released loosens the spine which can be a cause of pain.

4 Stress affects everything believe it or not, including your spine.

5- Physical Changes in the uterus cause muscle interactions that cause pain.

The pain usually gets better before giving birth.

If you are looking for ways to ease the pain during these precious months, here are a few tips that can help:

1- Swim or just exercise as much as possible. It will help greatly.

2- Exercise to improve your posture. We recommend the McKenzie method among others

3- Get plenty of rest and avoid sleeping on your back

4- Shoes are important. High heels will not help

5- Compresses applied locally can help ease your pain. Use both hot and cold.

6- Meditate to release your stress and if meditation is not enough you can see a therapist. They are qualified to help you.

7- Chiro or physiotherapists may help improve your posture.

8- If the pain is serious and persistent, call your doctor.

Call our office for more information, our staff is always available to help you.