Osteoporosis: Early detection is the key to prevent fractures.

“Osteo” means bone and “porosis” means porous. Osteoporotic bone has less bone mass per unit volume. Post-menopausal women are most commonly affected although men beyond 70 years of age are also affected less commonly. People with severe liver or kidney function impairment or those with endocrine problems are at risk of developing osteoporosis. Smoking can…

A young girl, her final exam and an endoscopic disc surgery.

An unexpected health problem striking at a wrong time is the last thing a 20 year old would expect. But sometimes the nature has its say on our bodies and we are forced to face such situations. A 20 years old girl was in the middle of her college degree final examinations when she started…

Teenagers with disc prolapse are more likely to need surgery.

Disc related problems are usually associated with adults and elderly age group patients. But it may surprise you to know that it also occurs in young boys and girls in the later half of their teenage, although it is not as common as in adults. One of the common reasons is a significant trauma like a…

Degenerative scoliosis: The manifestations and treatment options.

Degenerative scoliosis is an abnormal sideward curve in the lower back that develops as an end result of age related degeneration of multiple segments in the lumbar spine. So, all those with a degenerative scoliosis are usually in the elderly age group. The degenerative curve develops due to asymmetrical/ unequal wear and tear changes in…

Cauda equina syndrome. Explained through the story of a young techie.!

It was at the end of a long day and I was seeing the last patient in my clinic. He was a young IT professional who came in dragging his feet, with support of two people. He complained of inability to walk independently since that morning, numbness in both the feet and legs and hadn’t…

“Ankylosing spondylitis” is a crippling disease that is often diagnosed too late.

Early diagnosis helps preventing development of severe joint and spine deformities. “Ankylosis” is a term that represents severe loss of movements in a joint due to formation of bone or fibrous tissue in the joint. Ankylosing Spondylitis is a type of a chronic inflammatory arthritis that predominantly affects the spine, apart from other big joints…

Does cigarette smoking cause disc problems?

Smoking has long been know to cause many harmful effects, mainly on the lungs and heart, apart from increased risk of various cancers. A less known fact is that smoking can also lead to faster degeneration (wear and tear) of the discs of the spine and increase the risk of disc prolapse and related problems;…

Endoscopic lumbar discectomy

  The SPINE lends structural stability and balance to our body helping us stand upright, while allowing flexibility in various movements. Moreover, it forms a protective canal in which the SPINAL CORD, the most important part of the neural network, flows down from the brain to the rest of our body. The spinal column is…