Archive for the ‘Videos’ Category
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
erinfinnonething
Dr. Erin Finn is an Emergency Department physician, who sees every manner of back pain in her day to day work in the ER. Today she presents her ONE THING, a continuing series where experts in various fields share their number one suggestion for preventing or relieving back & neck pain.
You hear me harp over and over about the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle with regards to back pain. Here are some additional tips you can use to prevent becoming a victim of sitting on your butt:
-If you are sitting for more than 30 minutes, get up and stretch out your legs and back.
-Take a few minutes at lunch time to take a walk, even if it is just around your office building or school.
-If you have an exercise bike, or treadmill- set it up where you watch TV so you can take a sedentary activity, and make it an active one.
-Park your car a few spots out when you are grocery shopping, or going to the mall- the extra few steps won’t hurt.
-Don’t lose track of how much time you are wasting on the internet. GET UP!
-If you are a student, put some of your notes on 3×5 cards so you can ’stroll & study.’
-Take the stairs when you can.
So try to keep moving. Like Dr. Finn said- if you rest, you rust!
Be well!
-Andy
Posted in The One Thing, Videos | No Comments »
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Today, I answer one of the most frequently asked questions in my practice: After all of the treatments, adjustments, therapy- why am I still in pain?
Some helpful tips follow the video. Enjoy!
WhyIstillhavepain
Here are some things to pay attention to in your spine lifestyle. Addressing these few things may go a long way towards helping you to find relief. Take a look at these:
1) Make sure your workspace is as ergonomically optimized as possible. Good chair, good organization of work related materials, etc…
2) Get regular sleep. Optimize your sleep environment- supportive mattress, dark room, quiet. Don’t consume caffeine within several hours of your bedtime.
3) Get regular exercise, and exercise properly- maintaining an optimal body composition will help take the strain off of your back. Good form will ensure that you are working the correct muscle groups, and prevent you from harming yourself further.
4) Minimize the weight of the items you carry with your. Dump out the contents of your purse or briefcase and get rid of everything you don’t really need.
5) Make sure your car is as spine friendly as possible; Adjust seating and controls for easy, unstrained reach. Add a lumbar support (a rolled up t-shirt will do.) Set your mirrors so you aren’t cocking your head one way or another.
6) Consume plenty of water daily. This helps to eliminate cellular waste from your system, and allows you to heal and function more efficiently. Take a few minutes, several times a day to do some relaxing, restorative deep breathing exercises.
7) And as always, use a headset while you are on the phone- Cradling your phone between your ear & shoulder is one sure way to wreck your neck!
A good place to start is to pay attention to those areas where you spend the most time. Invite your partner to pay attention as well- sometimes an objective second party set of eyes will notice things you will not.
Be well!
-Andy
Victoria & Albert Museum, Kensington, London
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, back, back health, Back Pain, back together, backtogether, chronic pain, health, lifestyle, muscle spasm, neck, Neck Pain, pain, Sciatica, spine, Tips
Posted in Announcements, Ergonomics, Fitness & Exercise, General Health Information, Tips, Videos | No Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
So after careful consideration, I have opted not to get swept into the discussion regarding Health Care Reform beyond what I have already said. Some of the letters I received were so nasty, and came from both sides of the debate. I figure, I posted a non-partisan piece, and I am going to remain non-partisan here on BackWords. I thank you all for your letters, and please feel free to submit questions and comments which are non-political in nature.
Here is a video post which says pretty much as much, and also answers a viewer question regarding spinal decompression therapy. I have seen adds for this popping up pretty much all over the place for the past several years. See a photo of one of the devices below (I did not take this photograph, it was emailed to me, so please forgive me for using it if it is yours!)
drs9000-HCR
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, Back Pain, back together, backtogether, chiropractic, DRS9000, health care reform, kirschner, Neck Pain, spinal decompression
Posted in Videos, Viewer Question, politics | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
dead sea alternative
Standing on the bank of the Dead Sea seemed like an opportune time to introduce my series on alternative treatments for back and neck pain.
There are so many different options in the world of alternative medicine- some are wonderfully effective, and some, well- I will let you judge for yourself. This series will not be like some of the others, which came out over a short period of time. This will be an ongoing feature which will recur from time to time. I will not only review some of the more popular approaches like acupuncture and prolotherapy, but I will show you some of the more esoteric approaches as well. I hope you will stop in and check them out.
Please, keep those cards and letters coming- your input helps to make the site more interesting and fun.
Thanks for stopping by,
-Andy
Tags: alternative, alternative medicine, Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, arthritis, Back Pain, back together, dead sea, ein gedi, israel, Neck Pain, psoriasis, Sciatica, spasm
Posted in Announcements, Videos | No Comments »
Friday, March 5th, 2010
The latest installment of my introductions to the different types of spinal surgery. I thank my daughter for working as cameraman during our trip- sorry for the shaky video.
discreplacement2
As I related in the video post, the disc replacement is a relatively new compared to most of what’s out there. It is a pretty elaborate procedure, and the recovery time will vary largely based upon the overall health, weight, age, and fitness of the patient prior to the surgery.
Below is an image of the prosthetic device itself.
One type of replacement disc prosthesis.
Thanks for visiting, in the next installment of this surgery series, I will review the foraminotomy and a brief wrap up. Look for more posts from Israel this week.
Best,
Andy
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, Back Pain, back surgery, back together, backtogether, disc, disc replacement surgery, israel, kirschner, Low Back Pain, masada, massada, Sciatica, spinal surgery, Surgery
Posted in Low Back Pain, Sciatica, Surgery, Videos | No Comments »
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
bobcampbellonething
Today, Bob Campbell, Physical Therapist from Rasansky Physical Therapy shares his ‘one thing.’ His clip is based on the observation (shared by many practitioners) that lots of patients will give up on their home exercises once their pain resolves. Remember- most back & neck pain is the result of lots of cumulative effects- and that some of these, if not most, are lifestyle issues. If you do not address the lifestyle issues which caused you back pain after you have been treated, your pain is not likely to stay away for long.
Thanks for checking in,
-Andy
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, Back Pain, back together, backtogether, exercise, exercises, Neck Pain, physical therapy, rasansky, The One Thing
Posted in The One Thing, Videos | No Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Fibro1
Some key things to remember about fibromyalgia:
1) Fibromyalgia is generally considered to be a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that all other causes of pain need to be ruled out. It can mimic several other conditions such as Lyme disease, which can be screened with bloodwork.
2) Fibromyalgia is non-articular, meaning it does not primarily cause joint pain. I say primarily because this condition can cause altered body mechanics which can eventually cause wear and tear on the joints leading to joint pain.
3) The physical findings of fibromyalgia are muscle tenderness, and the identification of 11 or more of 17 identified trigger points (painful points which can cause radiating pain somewhere else.) It is important when evaluating a patient to note that these points do not have to be identified simultaneously, but may wax & wane over a protracted period of time.
4) Fibromyalgia sufferers generally have high levels of fatigue, and often complain of poor sleep.
5) Patients with fibromyalgia frequently also suffer from depression, leading some clinicians to believe that it is largely a psychological diagnosis- this belief is furthered by the fact that many patients report an improvement in their pain with the use of some anti-depressant medications. I believe fibromyalgia is a physiological condition, and I will elaborate on my thoughts about this in parts 2 & 3.
6) Fibromyalgics often report a symptom known as ‘fibro-fog’ where they have difficulty concentrating or focusing on a task or process. This symptom seems to be exacerbated by the painful ‘flare ups’ in fibromyalgia’s pain symptoms.
If you are a fibromyalgia sufferer, please send me your thoughts- as well as your successes and failures dealing with this painful condition.
Thanks for joining me, and be well.
-A
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, Back Pain, back together, backtogether, Fibromyalgia, kirschner, lyme, lyme disease, muscle pain, Neck Pain, trigger point, trigger points
Posted in Fibromyalgia, General Health Information, Videos | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
feb32010update
There are a few topics I have been meaning to get to- I touched upon one surgery- the foraminotomy a week ago, but there are so many other procedures out there for the spine, and some viewers had some questions about what these procedures did. In light of a few recent studies regarding the outcome of these procedures, I thought now would be a good time to start a short series on the topic. Look for a post on disc replacement surgery some time in the next few days.
Also, I have been getting many questions about fibromyalgia- what it is and more importantly, what can be done about it. Look for some informational posts as well as some tips over the next several days.
Thanks for visiting- and BE WELL!
-Andy
Today is my wife, Donna's, birthday. I love you sweetheart- Happy Birthday!
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, Back Pain, back together, disc replacement, Fibromyalgia, kirschner, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, spinal fusion, Surgery, Tips
Posted in Announcements, Fibromyalgia, Low Back Pain, Surgery, Videos | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
updatepregfootball
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Good Morning!
Another way too cold day here in Philadelphia- I am literally counting the days until Spring. Yesterday I received a stack of movie reviews of Avatar, both from people who thought it was the best movie ever made, and those who really hated it. As I said in the last post- I really enjoyed it a lot. What I hope is that James Cameron doesn’t try to make a sequel.
Today’s video:
This weeks video update includes a thank you for your comments on my daughter’s first blog post, a note on the Time magazine cover story regarding football injuries, a comment about a study regarding manual medicine for the treatment of pregnancy related back pain, and an update on the fitness challenge. Bear with me while I try to find the best way to ‘banner’ Back Together for the other sources displaying my videos.
Best, and be well,
-Andy
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, andy kirschner, Back Pain, back together, concussion, football, injury, kirschner, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, Pregnancy
Posted in General Health Information, Low Back Pain, Pregnancy, Studies & Research, Videos | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
foraminotomy
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A response to a viewer question regarding the surgical procedure known as a foraminotomy. In this procedure, the hole where a nerve exits the spine is enlarged in an effort to relieve impingement of the nerve, and subsequent pain. Stenosis, or reduction in the size of this hole is a common source of sciatica, and other radiating types of nerve pain. Below is an image of the neural exit foramina between two vertebrae.
Stay tuned for updates on the Fitness Challenge, and coming next week Pilates instructor Amanda Mitchell shares her One Thing.
Thanks for all of the great feedback, and be well.
-Andy
Tags: Andrew Kirschner, Back Pain, back together, foramina, foraminotomy, kirschner, Low Back Pain, muscle spasm, sciatic, Sciatica, spasm, stenosis, Surgery
Posted in Low Back Pain, Sciatica, Surgery, Videos, Viewer Question | No Comments »
