What is the #1 predictor of whether you will have low back surgery in the USA?
That’s right, the #1 predictor of whether you will have low back surgery in the USA is not the amount of pain you have or your MRI findings, it’s your ZIP CODE!!! Hard to believe isn’t it? Another predictor is if the surgeon owns the MRI machine. If they do, the likelihood of spinal surgery increases by 34%. Low back …
The Problem With Satisfied Patients
Alexandra Robbins A misguided attempt to improve healthcare has led some hospitals to focus on making people happy, rather than making them well. When healthcare is at its best, hospitals are four-star hotels, and nurses, personal butlers at the ready—at least, that’s how many hospitals seem to interpret a government mandate. When Department of Health and Human Services …
Wrinkles on the inside are normal
Disc bulges, disc degeneration, disc height loss and facet degeneration are common findings on MRI and CT in individuals WITHOUT low back pain and these findings increase as we age. Many image-based degenerative changes are a part of the normal aging process and are often not the cause of low back pain.
Hope for an S-Shaped Back
Article from The New York Times published May 12, 2014 I wore a hard plastic brace around my torso from ages 8 to 16 to treat scoliosis, or spinal curvature. Bracing has been standard treatment in children for the past five decades, and I wore my brace diligently, if awkwardly, in the hope that it would contain my S-shaped curvature …
Kaiser Permanente Hayward Physical Therapy Fellowship
We have some FANTASTIC news to share! Please join us in congratulating senior faculty member, Dr. Joe Farrell, for being selected as a 2015 Catherine Worthingham Fellow (FAPTA) by the American Physical Therapy Association! The FAPTA designation is the highest honor conferred by the APTA, recognizing individuals for professional excellence and making a profound impact in advancing the profession. Dr. …