Radicular (radiating) pain occurs when a spinal nerve is compressed (“pinched”). This type of pain radiates from your back, traveling along the spinal nerve. Depending on where on the spine the radicular pain originates, it can result in arm pain, pain around the chest, or leg pain. If you have ever had radicular pain, you…

If you are over the age of 50 and have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis, you may wonder if this is a normal part of aging, especially since many of your older friends and relatives have also been diagnosed with the same condition. In fact, stenosis does affect a significant percentage of the population, but…

Though most of us associate scoliosis with an abnormal curvature of the spine that becomes apparent in late childhood or adolescence, many patients are diagnosed with the condition for the first time when they are adults. These individuals are usually dealing with back pain or other symptoms and may not have consulted with physiatrists, like…

How painful is radiculopathy and is it a spinal condition that always requires surgery? Radiculopathy, while a fairly common condition, may not be a term with which most people are familiar. Using the less technical “pinched nerve” or “sciatica” terms are far more likely to ring a bell. Other times the diagnosis might otherwise be…

Is there a way to tell if I am developing spinal stenosis? If you haven’t reached the period in life where the first thing you are asked when you mention an ache or a pain is “how old are you, now?”, then just wait for it. If you are fortunate enough to live into your…