Healthcare News
Robotic trunk support assists those with spinal cord injury
An engineering team has invented a robotic device -- the Trunk-Support Trainer (TruST) -- that can be used to assist and train people with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) to sit more stably by improving their trunk control, and thus gain an expanded active sitting workspace without falling over or using their hands to balance. The study is the first to measure and define the sitting workspace of patients with SCI based on their active trunk control.
Causes of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
Up to 74.6% of low back spine surgeries fail to completely relieve pain, according to a 2016 review published in the Journal of Pain Research. Believe it or not, there's a medical name for this—failed back surgery syndrome. FBSS, as it is often called for short, refers to persistent pain following back surgery.
3 easy deskside stretches to keep muscle pain at bay
If you're not taking regular breaks to move around during your workday, your muscles may rebel after being scrunched in your desk chair hour after hour.
Reasons for Revision Spine Surgery
Revision spine surgery may be deemed necessary by your doctor (or you) if you still have symptoms after the first procedure, or if you have new symptoms. But how do you know if you really need that 2nd back surgery? Check this list to start your research.
For adult scoliosis, surgery, other treatments are viable options
Spinal curvature often results in more back pain, leg pain and other symptoms for adults than teens because adults also can have degeneration in the discs between vertebrae, and spinal stenosis
Staying awake during spine surgery is cutting recovery time in half
A traditional spinal fusion surgery with general anesthesia takes about four hours and requires a hospital stay of three to four days as well as IV painkillers. The awake spine surgery takes half the time and typically has patients out of the hospital within 24 hours.
Researchers aiming to cure spina bifida get a step closer to their goal
Researchers on the path to finding a cure for spina bifida have identified specific elements in stem cell secretions as key to protecting neurons and ultimately reducing the lower-limb paralysis associated with the birth defect.
Surgery for herniated discs in neck can be safely performed in outpatient setting
Surgery to remove multiple herniated or degenerated discs in the neck, a procedure known as anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), can be safely performed in an outpatient setting in select patients, according to a study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City.
From foam to bone: Plant cellulose can pave the way for healthy bone implants
Researchers have developed what could be the bone implant material of the future: an airy, foamlike substance from plant cellulose that can be injected into the body and provide scaffolding for the growth of new bone.
CT scan prior to spine fusion finds almost half of patients had undiagnosed osteoporosis
A study at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City found that a CT scan of the lumbar spine prior to surgery indicated that a significant number of patients had low bone density that was previously undiagnosed.