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Neurosurgeon describes 8 common myths about back pain
Back pain is common, but several myths about it persist. Meghan Murphy, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, describes eight of them and provides the facts.
The future of spine surgery: healing backs without screws or metal implants
Metal rods, screws and bone grafts have long been the backbone of spinal fusion surgeries — a fix for fractured spines, worn-out discs or bones that refuse to heal on their own. The hardware works. But it’s also rigid and invasive, and often leaves patients with lingering pain, stiffness and the need for follow-up surgeries down the road. At the University of Missouri, a team of engineers is working on a new approach. In the Biomodulatory Materials Engineering Laboratory in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, researchers led by Principal Investigator Bret Ulery are building a future where spines heal not through steel, but through biology — using tiny, bioactive materials made from therapeutic peptides to guide the body’s natural repair processes from the inside out.
Is the Holy Grail for Treating Chronic Back Pain Within Reach?
Chronic pain reroutes circuits in our nerves to the spinal cord and the brain. Understanding how this happens could help us reverse it.
Steroids for back pain: Why they can be effective
Steroids, also known as corticosteroids, are synthetic hormones that can help reduce swelling and inflammation in the body, which may help improve back pain.
Causes of Anterolisthesis and How to Treat Slipped Vertebrae
Anterolisthesis occurs when a vertebra, one of the bones that make up your spine, slips forward over the one beneath it. It can be caused by strenuous activity, trauma, tumors, or disease, and treatment varies depending on how severe the slippage is.
