STUDY DESIGN A phantom experiment, two thermocouple experiments, three in vivo pig experiments, and a simulated treatment on a healthy human volunteer were conducted to test the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) for treating facet joint pain. OBJECTIVE The goal of the current study was to develop a novel method for accurate and safe non...

Swinging a golf club includes the rotation and extension of the lumbar spine. Golf-related low back pain has been associated with degeneration of the lumbar facet and intervertebral discs, and with spondylolysis. Reflective markers were placed directly onto the skin of 11young male amateur golfers without a previous history of back pain. Using a VICON system (Oxford Metrics, U.K.), full golf sw...

STUDY DESIGN Cross sectional and observational. PURPOSE To evaluate the different aspects of lumbar disc degenerative disc disease and relate them with magnetic resonance image (MRI) findings and symptoms. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Lumbar disc degenerative disease has now been proven as the most common cause of low back pain throughout the world. It may present as disc herniation, lumbar spina...

BACKGROUND Degenerative joint disease (DJD) in the lumbar spine is a common condition that is associated with chronic low back pain. Excessive loading of lumbar joints is a risk factor for DJD. Changes in lumbar lordosis significantly redistribute the forces of weight-bearing on the facet joints and the intervertebral discs. However, the relationship between lumbar lordosis and DJD has not been...

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the effectiveness of Sarapin in prolonging the action of neural blockade with improved pain relief. DESIGN Prospective, continuous, double-blind trial including 500 consecutive patients undergoing either caudal epidural injections; cervical, thoracic, lumbosacral facet joint nerve blocks; and/or intercostal nerve blocks or a combination thereof. BACKGROUND Sarapin h...

Patients occasionally present with sudden onset of back pain, deformity and fever but with radiographs which, though taken after an appropriate interval, seem to exclude sepsis in the disc or vertebral body. Since there are many synovial joints in the spine, it seemed possible that septic arthritis of a facet joint might explain the discrepancy. A search of the world literature back to 1966, ho...

ii To Jameson and my parents iii We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot. Eleanor Roosevelt iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I want to thank my advisor Dr. Nicole Grosland. I would not be where I am without her guidance early in my college career. The insight and encouragement provided th...