Doctor Q&A : Discovering, Diagnosing, and Removing a Spinal Tumor

Doctor Q&A : Discovering, Diagnosing, and Removing a Spinal Tumor

Pre-Procedure Are there symptoms or signifiers that a patient may have a tumor on their spine? Patients may have similar symptoms to other pathologies such as disc herniations or stenosis from spondylosis that cause spinal cord or nerve root compression.  This may include pain, decreased sensation, or motor weakness.  For example, when a patient has…

Crystal and Katie holding model of a spine

The Healing Power of Friends When You’re in Pain

Dealing with back and body pain is never easy — but it’s especially hard when you shoulder it alone. Studies show people assess the level of their own pain… and cope better with it when they are connected to others instead of feeling isolated to deal with it on their own. That’s something that Crystal…

two women relax on log, look out across bay

The Power of Friendship in Overcoming Back Pain

Dealing with back and body pain is never easy — but it’s especially hard when you shoulder it alone. Studies show people assess the level of their own pain… and cope better with it when they are connected to others instead of feeling isolated to deal with it on their own. That’s something that Crystal…

cmh holding spine for bertolotti’s syndrome

As Seen on Fox5 DC: Solving a Medical Mystery — Bertolotti Syndrome

When debilitating back pain began to impact Maggie’s ability to cheer and attend school, she sought help from VSI. After diagnosis and successful treatment for what Dr. Haines discovered to be Bertolotti Syndrome, Maggie is now back doing what she loves as a cheerleader for Clemson University. Dr. Colin Haines, Spine Surgeon; and his patient,…

side view of cheerleaders

When Back Pain is Nothing to ‘Cheer’ About

Cheerleading is an incredible popular sport, with more than 3 million involved across the US. These are serious athletes who can develop very serious injuries, especially along and around the spine. So we are talking in this episode with Dr. Colin Haines from VSI about how he helps competitive cheerleaders deal with back and neck…