spine back

Sacroiliac Joint Surgery is commonly done to treat SI joint instability and pain. Does it have any complications? Is it the best solution for the problem?  In order to answer those questions, we need to start with the Sacroiliac Joint , or SI Joint, itself. What Is the Sacroiliac Joint? The sacroiliac joint is a … Continued

Low back pain can be disabling and erode your quality of life.  What are the common causes of low back pain?  What is lumbar fusion?  Is lumbar fusion effective?  Is there a “Do I need back surgery quiz?” to help navigate this issue? Let’s dig in. Do I Need Back Surgery Quiz Common Causes of … Continued

Rib Fracture Surgery – Can It Put You at Risk for Additional Fractures? Your Rib Cage Is Important Your rib cage is a vital area that protects the lungs and provides structure for the muscles that allow you to breathe. Rib fractures, which are surprisingly common, often result from some type of blunt force trauma … Continued

Spine and orthopedic surgery is associated with multiple risks which include bleeding, infection, failure and escalation in pain. Infection can be devastating requiring removal of an implant and repeat surgery.  Infection can also spread throughout the body with life threatening sepsis and serious infections such as hepatitis B, meningitis and HIV. Sterilization of surgical instruments … Continued

Spine surgery has lasting consequences, as it forever changes the lumbar anatomy and biomechanics.  It’s not like a bad haircut which will grow out over time.  The anatomical changes are permanent. The consequences of minimally invasive spine surgery are truly something to talk about directly. We have all seen the ads where a patient who … Continued

Today, we invite you into one of our interventional orthopedics procedure suites. Dr. Pitts will be performing an advanced image-guided stem cell injection into an L4–5 disc to treat a patient with an annular tear and low back pain. Watch the video below, and you can also review terminology and equipment in this post below … Continued

Spring is here, and for many of us, that means those activity levels that dwindled off a bit, or a lot, throughout the cold winter months are starting to kick into high gear. The story may not be the same for those who suffer with degenerative disc disease – but let’s not jump ahead of … Continued

Specilaized doctor discusses the Patrick's Test in evaluating the sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

We have a list of surgeries that we consider surgeries that might accomplish one goal, but they create more damage in the process. Spinal decompression (aka laminectomy) is on that list. So today we’re going to dive into this issue. Spinal Decompression Is Damage to Accomplish a Goal First what, exactly is a spinal decompression? … Continued

The modern world of orthopedics consists of hyperspecialists who focus on treating injured athletes based on their individual broken and painful parts. So the knee doctor treats the athlete with knee pain, the foot and ankle doctor treats the athlete with foot pain, and the spine doctor treats the athlete with back pain. At the … Continued