If you suffer from a back, neck or spine disorder, the Michigan Medicine Comprehensive Spine Program can help improve your quality of life with treatment from our multidisciplinary team and medical or surgical treatment options.
Lumbar degenerative disc disease is a chronic (ongoing) degenerative condition of the lumbar spine that affects the vertebral bodies and intervertebral discs of the low back. The discs lose water content and shrink, and spurs often form as osteoarthritis develops.
The facet joints are the connections between the bones of the spine. These joints allow the spine to bend and twist, and they keep the back from slipping too far forward or twisting too much. Facet joint syndrome occurs when these joints get stressed and damaged due to injury, everyday wear and tear, or disc degeneration.
A herniated disc occurs when the soft inner nucleus of the vertebral disc in the spine pushes through the outer wall. The condition usually occurs in the lower back but it can also occur in the neck. The herniation can result in a large bulge that can press against nearby nerve roots causing pain.
Patients seeking medical options or injection procedures come to the Comprehensive Spine Program staffed by anesthesiologists specializing in pain management or physiatrists. Although both areas treat many of the same conditions there are some different treatment options in each - your physician will refer you to the program that best fits your needs.
The sacroiliac joint (SI joint) is the joint that connects the spine to the pelvis and serves primarily for weight bearing. When the SI joint is painful, activities such as walking, sitting and standing can stress it, causing worsening pain.
After a trauma, a large cut or surgery around the nerves, scar tissue forms. Scar tissue is both good and bad. It helps the nerve attach to nearby structures, but when the patient moves, pressure is placed on the nerve because the scar tissue can pull on the nerve. Even without movement, the scar tissue can reduce the nerve's blood supply. All of this can cause significant nerve pain.
Spondylolisthesis (spawn-dee-lo-LISS-tha-sis) is a condition of the spine in which one of the vertebrae slips forward or backward. The condition can be caused by a congenital defect the patient is born with, an injury or trauma, arthritic changes in the joints of the vertebra, or a bone defect.
The vertebral body is the weight-supporting, solid central part of a vertebra (any of 33 bones of the spinal column). A vertebral body compression fracture is when a break collapses one or more vertebrae of the spine. Vertebral compression fractures are often linked to osteoporosis or thinning of the bone tissue over time. Such fractures may also be caused by trauma.
