Blog

TMJ and Neck Pain

Marc Darrow, MD,JD. Over the years we have received our fair share of emails from patients seeking help for their TMJ. In many of these emails, the sender will describe to us osteoarthritis of the jaw that came as a result of a traumatic injury such as a jaw dislocation during a hockey game or a dislocation or a fractured jaw from an accident. Some will write that their TMJ problems developed when they had some wisdom teeth removed. Others will suggest that TMJ came upon them slowly as a degenerative joint disease. This article will focus on the later,

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Hip replacement or spinal fusion? Which one first?

Many people email us about their hip and back pain. Some have been recommended to a hip replacement, some have been recommended to a spinal surgery. Some have been recommended to both surgeries and they are in the process of choosing between one or the other and exploring options to help them avoid one or the other surgery, even both. Back surgery? Hip Surgery? Do you need either? Both? Neither? The problem of hip-spine complex pain is that it is indeed a complex problem of hip and spine pain. As we will see in the research below, problems of the

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Information on Artificial cervical disc replacement vs Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Marc Darrow, MD, JD. There are many options in helping people with neck pain or degenerative disease in their cervical spine. At our clinic we try to help as many people avoid surgery as we can although for some people surgery will be their only realistic option and we advise these people appropriately. Sometimes a person may think they need surgery because they have been told that the must have it even though the evidence for their needing a surgery may be based solely on an interpretation of an MRI. As researchers have pointed out most people will not need

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Pain medications increase fall risk in older patients

Pain and pain medications are risk factors for hip fracture falls One of the goals of surgery is to reduce the need for painkillers because of the long-term effects these medications can have on people. During the pandemic, when access to medical care and orthopedic surgery were compromised, many people found themselves being prescribed and taking more painkillers and anti-inflammatories to manage their chronic pain. As elective surgeries were push back and delayed, more pills were given. Painkillers and anti-inflammatories medications come with many well known and well documented side effects. Among these side effects is the increased risk that

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Information on Non-Surgical and Conservative Care for neck pain and cervical spine disorders

Chronic neck pain is one of the more frequent problems we see in our new patients because of its complexity and difficulty in finding the true cause of pain. Patients may present themselves with numbness or pain radiating from the neck into the arm due to nerve compression. They may be diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy which is caused by  herniated disc, or spondyliotic foraminal stenosis. When many doctors think there is a radiculopathy, a surgery will be recommended. Chronic neck pain usually centers around the nerves. Chronic neck pain usually centers around the nerves. A disc in the neck can

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Information on Carpal tunnel syndrome

Marc Darrow, MD, JD. If you suffer from Carpal tunnel syndrome you know that it causes numbness, tingling, and pain in the wrist, hand and arm. You were probably told that you have a compression of the median nerve somewhere among the sea and ligaments of the wrist. For you, like many people, your condition may have worsened overtime. Traditional methods of treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include wearing a splint at night or injections of cortisone to reduce swelling were suggested. Over the course of time you have tried: Ergonomic modification of office. Varying over the counter anti-inflammatories and pain

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