A major concern after any type of major surgery, particularly orthopedic (bone) surgery, is development of blood clots. Called venous thromboembolisms, they can cause severe health problems and even death. These clots can result in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism. A deep vein thrombosis is a clot that forms in a vein deep in the body, well below the skin surface.

There are many different types of rheumatological diseases. A rheumatological disease is an inflammatory arthritis that affects the entire body as a whole. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common rheumatologic disease. Certain types of rheumatoid arthritis seem to target specific joints.

A Patient's Guide to Adult Degernative Scoliosis

Introduction

A normal healthy spine will be straight when seen from the front or the back. When seen from the side, the normal spine forms a gentle ‘S’ curve.

No medical procedure is 100 percent foolproof so, yes, things can go wrong with a vertebroplasty, a procedure where a doctor injects a special cement into the spine to stabilize it.

Sometimes scoliosis in the older adult can be managed with nonoperative care such as physical therapy and medications. If the pain isn't severe or disabling, then conservative care is always advised. A three to six month course of treatment is encouraged.

Scoliosis or curvature of the spine is more common in older children and teenagers. For most of them, the condition is referred to as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Idiopathic means there is no known cause for the problem.

In older adults, the degenerative effects of aging on the spine are usually linked with scoliosis. In fact about 87 per cent of adult scoliosis is attributed to degeneration. Only 13 per cent remains idiopathic (unknown cause).

Scoliosis, a curvature of the spine occurs most often in older children and teenagers. But it can develop in older adults with serious complications. The cause is usually age-related degenerative changes in the spine. Sometimes there is no known cause. In this study, surgeons from the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia examine how often scoliosis occurs in older adults and the treatment needed.

We are assuming by saying you had a long fusion that there were several spinal segments fused. Most of the time using this term means that fusion occurred within the lumbar spine and that the lumbar spine was fused with the sacrum.

When bone grafts are used, the patient donates slivers of bone taken from his or her own ilium (pelvic bone). Bone from a bone bank can also be used. The bone in the bone bank is donated by others, but this occurs after the donor's death.

Physical therapy can leave you sore after a work out, but it isn't supposed to cause pain. If you are experiencing pain with your physical therapy, you should speak to your therapist about where the pain is, what seems to be causing it, and what type of pain it is. This is essential because if your therapist doesn't know that you are hurting, you could be doing more harm than good.