Sciatica is an umbrella term used to describe leg symptoms, such as pain, numbness, or tingling, caused by spinal conditions. Irritation or entrapment of the spinal nerves as they exit the spinal canal can lead to severe symptoms and disability. The majority of these cases can be treated conservatively including Physical Therapy and possible spinal...
Death and taxes are said to be the two certainties in life for adults, but Ben Franklin may have added low back pain given its’ current prevalence. Up to 90% of adults will report an episode of low back pain during their lifetimes. Fortunately, the vast majority of these episodes are not secondary to any...
Lumbar spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the bony canals in the spine which surround the nerves which supply our lower extremities. The condition is common among aging adults, > 60 years old, and can lead to symptoms such as single or bilateral leg pain, numbness, pins and needles, and/or weakness. Often leg symptoms are...
Physical Therapy remains the first line treatment for lumbar disk injuries due to its’ non invasive nature and clinical effectiveness. The natural history of disk injuries is not well established but preliminary data covered in prior blog posts demonstrates regression of these injuries over time. A recent case study in the New England Journal of...
The use of lumbar corticosteroid injections is often utilized for patients with back and leg pain (radicular pain) and/or leg numbness, pins and needles, or nerve root weakness (radiculopathy). In an older adult these symptoms may be due to a narrowing of the canals in which the lumbar nerve roots exit (lumbar stenosis). These injections...