Skip to main content

Blog Archive

I Have Severe Lower Back Pain: Is Radiculopathy the Answer? Nov 8th, 2024

Severe, persistent lower back pain may signal an underlying nerve problem. Radiculopathy, or pinched nerves, causes back pain and other pain symptoms for many adults in the United States each year. When your lower back pain gets too bad to ignore anymore, radiculopathy treatment may hold the answers you need...

5 Benefits of PRP Treatments Oct 16th, 2024

Your body regenerates constantly. With regenerative platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, you can make your natural ability to renew and regrow cells and tissue work where you need it most. Dr. Andrew Fox and Dr. Ryan Mattie of Total Spine Institute, located in Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California, provide PRP treatment...

Understanding 3 Complex Spine Surgeries Sep 10th, 2024

When you suffer from spine damage, your symptoms of pain and mobility loss may require surgery to fully address. Many parts of your spine may become damaged, either due to physical trauma or to the degenerative effects of time. You may experience spine fractures, slipped or rotated spinal bones, spine...

How Do Nerve Blocks Treat Spinal Stenosis? Aug 15th, 2024

Degeneration in your spine may cause common symptoms of aging, like aches and pains in your upper or lower back or neck. The majority of adults in the United States go through some type of degenerative spinal change during the aging process. Spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal canal,...

Consider These 8 Benefits of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Jul 25th, 2024

Spine surgery may be the type of treatment needed to effectively treat conditions like herniated spinal discs, compressed nerves around your spinal column, spinal stenosis, or even spinal trauma. The goal of spine surgery is to relieve pain and restore a healthy, fully functional spinal structure. When possible, Dr. Andrew...

I’m In A Lot of Pain: Are Corticosteroid Injections Safe To Repeat Often? Jun 19th, 2024

Living with long-term pain means making decisions about pain management. It’s not good for your body to suffer from too much pain on a regular basis. However, some pain management strategies need to be used sparingly, with breaks to let your body recover from potentially negative impacts. At Total Spine...

5 At-Home Scoliosis to Pair with Your In-Office Treatments May 1st, 2024

You can develop scoliosis at any age. Often, you receive your diagnosis in childhood or your teen years, but you may not realize that you have this condition until adulthood. Scoliosis causes abnormal curvature of the spine and progresses, or worsens, over time. Symptoms of neck and back pain and...

Eliminate Spinal Stenosis Pain with the Vertiflex™ Procedure Superion™ Indirect Decompression System Apr 15th, 2024

Your spinal canal contains your spinal cord and a large number of major connected nerves. If your spinal canal narrows or collapses, pressure on nerves can cause chronic back or neck pain. Spinal canal narrowing is known as spinal stenosis, and it’s more common in adults in the United States...

The Link Between Arthritis and Radiculopathy Mar 10th, 2024

As you age, changes in your body can create chronic pain problems. Radiculopathy, or a pinched nerve, is a common cause of pain, especially in seniors. Dr. Andrew Fox, Dr. Ryan Mattie, and the team at Total Spine Institute can help you understand more about your chronic pain risks. We...

Understanding Piriformis Syndrome Feb 1st, 2024

Piriformis syndrome is a nerve compression condition that causes uncomfortable symptoms in your lower body, typically affecting your hips, upper legs, and buttocks. The symptoms are similar to sciatica, as piriformis syndrome similarly involves pressure on your sciatic nerve. Are you at risk for piriformis syndrome, or have you been...

Is PRP Right for Me? Jan 16th, 2024

When you experience damage or degeneration around your spine, you may end up struggling with chronic pain in your back, neck, or other parts of your body. Degeneration often only gets worse with time. How can you find relief and improve the condition of your spine? At Total Spine Institute...

Does Scoliosis Cause Pain? Dec 13th, 2023

Many adults in the United States suffer from back pain. In some cases, determining the root cause of chronic back pain can be difficult. But if you also have curvature of your spine due to scoliosis, that’s likely to be at least a major contributing element to your back pain...

PRP Injections: A Game-Changing Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease Nov 1st, 2023

Many factors in your life lead to degeneration and wear-and-tear on your body, no matter how healthy of a lifestyle you try to live. The truth is time takes its toll. Your spinal discs are particularly vulnerable to degeneration in the form of degenerative disc disease. This condition is a...

What to Expect During and After Your Nerve Block Procedure Oct 1st, 2023

Chronic back or neck pain that won’t go away, no matter how many stretches or over-the-counter pain medications you try, creates frustration and even hopelessness. But did you know that nerve blocks and other pain injections may offer you an effective solution to back and neck pain related to nerve irritation, compression,...

Can Physical Therapy Resolve My Recurrent Sciatica for Good? Sep 1st, 2023

When pain, numbness, or sensations of weakness flare up in your lower back, buttocks, legs, or feet, your symptoms might be caused by a nerve compression condition known as sciatica. In this condition, compression or irritation of your sciatic nerve results in painful, often intermittent, symptoms. Can sciatica be relieved with...

4 Signs It’s Time to Consider Disc Replacement Surgery Aug 1st, 2023

Lingering back pain, or chronic pain in other parts of your body like your neck or even your arms, often relates back to issues in your spine. Your spine is a complex structure containing many small bones, cushioning spinal discs, and major nerves that relay sensation back to your brain....

Pinched Nerve Pain: 5 Effective Treatment Options for Radiculopathy Jul 1st, 2023

Your nerves travel throughout your body, connecting through a complex network that ultimately hooks up to your brain. When your body experiences sensations like heat, cold, or pain, your nerves relay electrical impulses to your brain that let you perceive and react. However, if one of your nerves gets pinched...

5 Spinal Conditions That Can Benefit From PRP Therapy Jun 1st, 2023

Spinal conditions often come with difficult symptoms like chronic pain. At Total Spine Institute of Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California, Dr. Andrew Fox, Dr. Ryan Mattie, and our team of providers use various medical approaches to address your spinal condition and related symptoms. This includes platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for many of our patients. PRP treatment...

How Chronic Poor Posture Can Cause (and Worsen) Spinal Osteoarthritis May 1st, 2023

At Total Spine Institute of Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California, we often treat patients whose neck and back pain is related to spinal osteoarthritis. Spinal osteoarthritis is a degenerative spinal condition that results in pain and inflammation. While many factors can contribute to spinal osteoarthritis, did you know that poor...

Nerve Block vs. Corticosteroid Injection: Which Pain Management Option is Right For Me? Apr 1st, 2023

Resolving persistent back pain and neck pain can be complex. Your pain might not respond sufficiently to your first attempts at treatment. Instead, the pain sticks around, depressing your mood and making getting through each day challenging. At Total Spine Institute, we know it’s important for you to find pain...

5 Nonsurgical Treatment Options for Degenerative Disc Disease Mar 1st, 2023

Your spine is a complex structure made up of multiple interconnected parts. The spinal column is built of a series of small vertebral bones spaced apart by spinal discs that separate and cushion them. Degenerative disc disease is a condition typically related to age. Your spinal discs can start to dry...

Recovering From Artificial Disc Replacement Surgery: What to Expect Feb 2nd, 2023

Your spine contains many small bones, known as vertebrae, that form your spinal column. Injury or wear-and-tear can damage these bones or the cushioning spinal discs between them, causing symptoms like persistent back pain or neck pain. While the team at Total Spine Institute of Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California,...

How Does Physical Therapy Fit Into My Pain Management Plan? Jan 1st, 2023

Living with acute or chronic pain puts a strain on you that can’t be overestimated. That’s why Dr. Andrew Fox and Dr. Ryan Mattie take a multidisciplinary approach to effective pain management. Dr. Fox and Dr. Mattie provide pain management care at Total Spine Institute of Sherman Oaks and Calabasas,...

7 Advantages of Robotic-Assisted Spine Surgery Dec 1st, 2022

Spine surgeries can be a highly effective way to address chronic back pain, leg pain, muscle weakness, and more. However, any surgical procedure carries risks, and surgery around your spinal area can be particularly sensitive. For one thing, nerves come together from all over your body in the location around...

How Does PRP Therapy Work to Alleviate Pain? Nov 1st, 2022

Pain can become a problem in your life for various reasons. Maybe you live with a chronic pain condition like arthritis that leaves you regularly dealing with aches and twinges. Or, maybe you’ve recently come through a trauma like an injury or surgery, and your pain levels are temporarily heightened...

What You Need to Know About Piriformis Syndrome Oct 1st, 2022

Your sciatic nerve, which runs from your spine down through your buttocks and into your legs, can cause several pain problems.  One commonly known sciatic nerve problem is sciatica, caused by a herniated disc or other spinal problem. But you can also suffer from symptoms of pain or numbness related to...

What Type of Arthritis Do I Have? Sep 1st, 2022

Arthritis affects thousands of adults in the United States each year. And, there’s not just one type of arthritis. More than 100 different types of arthritis could negatively affect you and your health with symptoms like severe pain. Back pain problems are often due to underlying arthritis issues, but arthritis...

Is Working From Home a Pain in Your Neck? Aug 1st, 2022

When you work from home, you can stay comfy in sweats all day, at least on your lower half. And, it’s easier to get lunch from your fridge than to pack or order lunch for a day at the office. Working from home can also make your life easier if...

Radiculopathy: Far Beyond Neck Pain Jul 1st, 2022

Your spine is home to major nerves that can be very painful when pinched or compressed. Types of radiculopathy, or pinched nerves, like sciatica can seriously impact your life, causing neck pain, back pain, or shooting pains in your extremities to intrude on both daily activities and special times. At the...

Early Signs of Degenerative Disc Disease Jun 1st, 2022

Do you know the warning signs to watch out for when it comes to degenerative disc disease affecting your spine? Degenerative conditions that cause damage to the cushioning discs that space and support your spine can result in chronic back pain or neck pain. The spine experts at Total Spine Institute of...

5 Ways To Help Prevent Your Sciatica From Flaring Up May 1st, 2022

Sciatica, a pinched nerve condition also known as lumbar radiculopathy, is common among many American adults, especially with increased age. If you have sciatica, you know how much a flare-up of your back, buttock, and leg pain symptoms can impede your ability to live your life to the fullest. The...

Lifestyle Changes to Help Prevent Spinal Stenosis Apr 1st, 2022

Did you know that over 80% of US adults experience significant back pain at least once in their lifetime? For some of them, a condition called spinal stenosis could be to blame.  Spinal stenosis develops when your spinal canal narrows and puts pressure on your nerves, causing pain and other...