Videos

Degenerative Disc Disease - Everything You Need to Know - Princeton Spine & Joint Center - Dr. Grant Cooper Read More

December Newsletter

In this newsletter, we introduce our new phone and portal system at PSJC and we discuss a video from our YouTube video channel about Degenerative Disc Disease. First, we would like to introduce everyone to Klara.  If you have called our office in the last few days, you will have noticed something new.  Over the last several months we have been testing and integrating a new communications system called Klara and it just went live a few

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Chiropractic Manipulation – Princeton Spine & Joint Center Podcast #25

 Welcome to Episode #25 of the Princeton Spine and Joint Center Podcast. In this episode Dr. Scott Curtis, Sports Medicine Director at Princeton Spine and Joint Center, sat down with Dr. Jaimee Kukla, a chiropractor practicing in Lawrenceville, New Jersey for over 20 years. Scott and Jaimee discussed chiropractic manipulation, what it’s used for and some of the misconceptions behind it. They also talked about the difference between chiropractic manipulation and physical therapy, and

Elbow Pain PSJC Podcast 24 Read More

Elbow Pain – Princeton Spine & Joint Center Podcast #24

 Welcome to Episode #24 of the Princeton Spine and Joint Center Podcast. In this episode Dr. Scott Curtis, Sports Medicine Director at Princeton Spine and Joint Center, sat down with Dr. Greg Kelley, Princeton Spine & Joint Center’s newest physician. Dr. Kelley joined PS&J Center from the Georgetown Hospital System, where he specialized in musculoskeletal medicine. Scott and Greg had an in-depth conversation about Elbow Pain. They discussed the general approach they take with

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Video: What is Acute Neck Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript Neck pain can generally be characterized in two categories: either acute or chronic. Acute neck pain is defined as any neck pain that has lasted less than three months. And chronic is pain that has lasted longer than three months. Now chronic pain doesn’t mean permanent pain and acute pain doesn’t mean it can’t last for a while longer, but when you have a sudden onset of pain, this generally
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Video: What Causes a Stiff Neck?

Watch the video Articles Related to this Video: Stiff Neck Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment When Neck Stiffness May Mean Meningitis Stiff Neck Remedies Based on Cause Video Transcript A stiff neck is typically characterized by soreness and difficulty moving the neck, especially when trying to turn the head to the side. A stiff neck may be accompanied by a headache, shoulder pain, or arm pain and cause the individual to turn the entire body – as opposed
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Treatment for Neck Strain or Sprain Video

Watch the video In This Article: Neck Strain: Causes and Remedies Neck Strain Symptoms Neck Strain Diagnosis Neck Strain Treatments and Prevention Neck Strains and Sprains Video Treatment for Neck Strain or Sprain Video Video Transcript Most minor strains of ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the neck heal relatively quickly, perhaps in just a few days. Until the symptoms subside, there are many self-care remedies that can be employed to alleviate the pain and stiffness
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Facet Joints Video

Watch the video In This Article: Facet Joint Disorders and Back Pain Symptoms and Diagnosis of Facet Joint Problems Treatment Options for Facet Joint Pain Facet Joints Video For more in-depth information on facet joints and osteoarthritis of the spine, watch: Lumbar Osteoarthritis Video on Arthritis-health.com. Video Transcript In order to understand the function of a facet joint, we need to know a little bit more about the anatomy of the spine. Now I am holding here
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Facet Joint Blocks Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A facet joint injection is an injection which you pass a needle to the facet joint. The needle is inserted to the joint and a small amount of lidocaine or another anesthetic agent is introduced along with anti-inflammatory medication. The anti-inflammatory cuts that inflammatory process and decreases the pain. Alternatively, you could do what’s called a facet joint injection not directed at the facet joint, but at the nerve going
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Cervical Collars for Neck Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Your typical cervical collar does not provide much support for the cervical spine. It acts more as a reminder that there’s a neck issue to limit the range of motion of the neck and acts to keep the neck warm and the muscles warm. Cervical collars, if used for minor neck pain, muscle pain, and cervical strain, should be used only on a short-term basis, if they’re used at all. It
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Causes of Pregnancy Back Pain Video

Watch the video Articles Related to this Video: What Causes Back Pain During Pregnancy? Treatments for Low Back Pain During Pregnancy Back Pain in Pregnancy Types of Back Pain in Pregnancy Common Causes of Back Pain in Pregnancy Management of Back Pain in Pregnancy Pregnancy Related Low Back Pain Video Transcript Back pain during pregnancy is quite common – approximately half of all pregnancies are complicated by back pain. In about ten percent of the
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Best Pillows for Neck Pain or Back Pain Video

Watch the video In This Article: Pillow Support and Comfort Best Pillows for Different Sleeping Positions Different Types of Pillows Best Pillows for Neck Pain or Back Pain Video Video Transcript Physicians are often asked by their patients, “Which is the best pillow to use?” And the truth is that there's no one answer that works for everybody; there’s no one pillow that works for everybody. We’ll talk about some of the different pillows and
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Back Spasm Treatment Video

Watch the video In This Article: Causes of Back Muscle Spasms Video Back Spasm Treatment Video The body's response to injury or improper movement is to spasm the surrounding muscles, which forces that area of the body to limit its motion. Back spasms can be significantly painful and debilitating. This video explains the common reasons for the back to spasm and the treatment options available to get the muscle out of spasm and back into a
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Video: What Helps and What Worsens Hip Arthritis Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript There are several common options for treating hip arthritis. Among them, first usually what we recommend is physical therapy – a good regimented physical therapy program. This includes strengthening of the muscles of the core, your core strengthening, strengthening the hip flexor muscles, your hip extensors, improving your biomechanics, and improving the way you are balanced so that you, we try to minimize the pressure that’s on the joints and
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Treatment for Snapping Hip Syndrome Video

Watch the video This video accompanies: Snapping Hip Syndrome Video Video Transcript Common treatment for a snapping hip syndrome varies depending upon the origin of the snapping hip. When it’s the first type, which is outside of the joint, and when it’s coming from a tendon that is snapping over the outside of the leg, normally treatment for this is just to strengthen the surrounding muscles, including your core, the hip flexor muscles, the hip extensor
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Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Video

Watch the video Video Transcript it should be emphasized that even when carpal tunnel syndrome presents with mild symptoms, it's important to try to modify and assess really what was the underlying cause of the carpal tunnel syndrome and to modify those activities. Whether they're at the workplace, if we can modify the way that someone is sitting at their desk and in front of the computer, if they're doing any type of repetitive motion
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Symptoms of Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video This video accompanies the article: What Is Hip Osteoarthritis? Video Transcript In addition to the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, the cartilage is what lines the joints and basically it is what gives us shock absorption, good shock absorption, and within the hip joint, the cartilage lines the ball of the ball-and-socket joint, and provides good cushioning, a padded cushion of absorption. When in osteoarthritis, this cushion starts to break down, and that's
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Snapping Hip Syndrome Video

Watch the video This video accompanies: Treatment for Snapping Hip Syndrome Video Video Transcript With a snapping hip syndrome, a patient typically will come in complaining of, just that, a snapping hip. The snapping hip can be painless or it can be painful. It can vary in the degree of time that it’s been going on for. Quite often, the patient knows that their hip has been snapping, and if it’s painless, hasn’t thought anything about
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Hip Pain from a Labral Tear Video

Watch the video Video Transcript When hip pain is coming from within the joint, the most common cause of that type of pain comes from a labral tear. And the labrum is the cartilage lining of that socket joint of the socket of the ball-and-socket of the hip joint, and that can tear in different areas. Typically, patients will present with pain in the groin. They can feel a locking, or a catching, or giving way, and
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Hip Bursitis Video

Watch the video In This Article: Hip (Trochanteric) Bursitis Hip Bursitis Symptoms Hip Bursitis Causes Hip Bursitis Diagnosis Hip Bursitis Treatment Hip Bursitis Video Video Transcript Hip Bursitis is a general term that can describe bursitis coming from a few different areas. Bursitis specifically means inflammation of the fluid pocket that is surrounding the hip joint. Hip bursitis can occur in and of itself, but more often occurs associated with some other symptoms. Most often
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Flexor Hallucis Longus (FHL) Tendinitis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Flexor hallucis longus tendinitis is an injury seen more often in athletes, dancers, and gymnasts who are doing repetitive motions using the flexor hallucis longus tendon. The flexor hallucis longus tendon is the tendon that allows you to rise up on your toes. When you are doing this motion repetitively and overusing that tendon, it tends to get injured. The patient typically will present with pain that’s over the —
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Electromyogram and Nerve Conduction Study Video

Watch the video Electromyograms and nerve conduction studies are diagnostic tests that help determine whether the muscles or the nerves are responsible for causing symptoms. The results of the electromyogram and nerve conduction study guide a doctor towards the correct type of treatment for a patient. Categories Ankle and foot pain Ankle and foot pain article Ankle and foot pain video Articles Back Pain Back pain article Back pain video condition we treat Degenerated discs
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Diagnosis of Hip Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A radiograph is basically also known as an X-Ray, where it is a picture of the bones. It does not show a good evaluation of the nerves or of the soft tissue rather. Really just a picture of the bones themselves. But the diagnosis of osteoarthritis is made based upon radiographic findings (what we see on an X-Ray.) So it's specific for that and can tell us, not only if
Ana Bracilovic, MD Read More

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A common cause of wrist and hand pain is De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis. This is essentially inflammation and irritation of the extensor tendons of the thumb at the wrist. Typically, a patient will come in who is doing some type of repetitive motion at work, whether they’re holding machinery and gripping that during the day, for a long part of the day, or doing some type of repetitive motion throughout the
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Causes of Hip Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript There are a few most common causes of hip pain. The first thing really to distinguish is to identify which pain is coming from the hip, as opposed to some other source. So four causes of hip pain, and the pain can come from muscles, ligaments, tendons, the pain can come from within the joint itself. But those types of pain present in a different way. So that's the most
Ana Bracilovic, MD Read More

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Carpal tunnel syndrome reflects a clinical diagnosis that involves one of the three main nerves in the arm. The median nerve is a nerve that passes through the carpal tunnel, which is located right here. The carpal tunnel itself houses the flexor tendons of the hand as well the fingers, the thumb, and the median nerve—the nerve that passes through the carpal tunnel. Typically a patient will present with complaints
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Video: What is Sacroiliitis?

Watch the video In This Article: All About Sacroiliitis Sacroiliitis Treatment Video: What is Sacroiliitis? Video Transcript Sacroiliitis is inflammation of the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint is formed by the union of the sacrum and the ilium. "Itis" is a Latin suffix denoting inflammation. Most people presenting with sacroiliitis usually complain about pain in their buttocks or the lower lumbar spine. What usually they will say is the pain kind of goes across the lumbar spine and usually
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Video: What is Lumbago?

Watch the video In This Article: Understanding Low Back Pain (Lumbago) Diagnosing the Cause of Lower Back Pain Axial Back Pain: Most Common Low Back Pain Low Back Pain with Referred Pain Lumbar Radiculopathy Video: What is Lumbago? Video Transcript Lumbago, essentially, comes from Latin and it means, or at least physicians use it to denote pain stemming from the low back. We kind of lump that together and we say lumbago is low back pain
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Video: What is Fibromyalgia?

Watch the video Video Transcript Fibromyalgia is a disorder that’s characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain that is usually accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues. Now, historically, fibromyalgia was a diagnosis that was given when it wasn't clear, truly, what the true diagnosis was. In fact, a lot of doctors didn't believe in the diagnosis as a true diagnosis. It was more of "We don't know what is going on, so this is probably
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Video: Common Causes of Thoracic Pain

Watch the video Video Transcript In talking about upper back pain, it’s important to talk about the anatomy of the complaints. So, when people complain about upper back pain, they're usually referring to the thoracic spine. Even though there is a lot of overlap from lower neck symptoms and upper back, as in thoracic spine, most people refer to thoracic spine as upper back. So, we'll talk about the thoracic spine. In the thoracic spine, unlike
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Types of Spinal Injections Video

Watch the video Articles Related to this Video: Costotransverse and Costovertebral Joint Injections Costovertebral and Costotransverse Joint Injection Results and Follow-Up Injections for Neck and Back Pain Relief Epidural Steroid Injections Selective Nerve Root Block Injections Facet Joint Injections and Medial Branch Blocks Sacroiliac (SI) Joint Injections Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) Video Transcript In discussing common spinal injections, it's important to remember what we’re trying to achieve and then choose the appropriate tool for the job.
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Treatment for Spondylolisthesis Video

Watch the video In This Article: Deciding on Surgery for Isthmic Spondylolisthesis Treatment for Spondylolisthesis Video Video Transcript Typical treatments for spondylolisthesis; some are very much like the treatments for the usual back complaints and back muscle spasms, but really is guided by the degree of the slippage so first of all, of course, we have to evaluate for instability. If there is instability then that has to be stabilized and there are different ways of
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Treatment for Neuropathic Pain Video

Watch the video In This Article: Treatment Options for Neuropathic Pain Physical and Occupational Therapy Offer Benefits for Neuropathic Pain Medications for Neuropathic Pain Spinal Cord Stimulators and Pain Pumps: Implantable Systems for Neuropathy Therapeutic Nerve Blocks for Neuropathy Additional Treatments for Neuropathic Pain Treatment for Neuropathic Pain Video Video Transcript Treatment is aimed at relieving any kind of offending force on the nerve itself, now whether it’s compression or anything that’s affecting the nerve
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Treatment for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome Video

Watch the video Articles Related to this Video: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS): What It Is and How to Avoid Pain after Surgery Scar Tissue and Pain After Back Surgery Video Transcript Failed back surgery syndrome is a term that is used to describe pain that starts or persists after spine surgery. The important thing to remember is that spine, in itself, serves a certain purpose; it solves a number of problems, but, as with
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Spondylolisthesis Overview Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Spondylolisthesis refers to a process by which one vertebrae slips on top of the other and what we usually see is the vertebrae slipping on top of one another and more commonly in the lower back, we’re talking about the lower segments. That being said, it’s important to remember that there are different types of spondylolisthesis. There are actually six types of spondylolisthesis - or really the reasons for that
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Sacroiliac Joint Radiofrequency Rhizotomy Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Another option in non-surgical treatment of the sacroiliac joint dysfunction is radiofrequency rhizotomy. Now, what that is is that technique itself has been researched a lot and mostly has been researched in treatment for the facet joints - the hinge-like joints in the spine - and that really applies to the whole spine (the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine). We have a lot of literature supporting its use. The theory is that in order
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Pain and Thoracic Herniated Disc Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Herniated disc in the thoracic spine is pretty uncommon and the reason for that is because there are a lot of supporting structures in the thoracic spine, unlike the cervical and lumbar spine. There is a lot more motion in the cervical spine as well as the lumbar spine. That motion is limited in the thoracic spine because of the rib cage. The rib cage is there to protect our internal organs,
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Osteoporotic Fractures of the Spine Video

Watch the video In This Article: Osteoporosis: 4 Proven Steps to Prevent Osteoporosis Fractures Physical and Lifestyle Risk Factors for Osteoporosis Bone Density Testing Individualized Osteoporosis Treatment Plan Calcium and Vitamin D Requirements Regular Weight-Bearing Exercise Effects of Stopping Smoking and Alcohol Abuse on Osteoporosis Monitoring Osteoporosis Osteoporotic Fractures of the Spine Video Video Transcript Osteoporotic fracture in the spine usually refers to a fracture of the vertebral body. Now, this is a lumbar spine,
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Non-Surgical Treatment for Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction Video

Watch the video This video accompanies the article: Treatment Options for Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. Video Transcript Non-surgical treatment options for sacroiliac joint pain really have to be addressed in sort of a two-fold or two-pronged approach. On one hand, the underlying source of the pain has to be addressed; on the other hand, the pain itself has to be addressed. So, what I mean by that is that the sacroiliac joint pain usually stems from sacroiliac joint dysfunction
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Medications for Back Pain Video

Watch the video Articles Related to this Video: Medications for Back Pain and Neck Pain Acetaminophen for Back Pain Tramadol for Back Pain Opioid Pain Medications Muscle Relaxants: List of Common Muscle Relaxers Video Transcript Different medications used to control back pain fall into different categories. Now, the broad spectrum of the categories can be broken down initially into the way we take the medication itself. So, oral medications, those that can be used as
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Insomnia and Back Pain Video

Watch the video In This Article: Chronic Pain and Insomnia: Breaking the Cycle Addressing Pain and Medical Problems Disrupting Sleep Practicing Good Sleep Hygiene Psychological Approaches for Insomnia Insomnia and Back Pain Video Video Transcript Insomnia and back pain really go hand in hand. In fact, in a recent study, it has been shown that approximately two-thirds of people suffering from back pain also have disrupted sleep. Now it’s also important to know that studies
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Cervicogenic Headache Video

Watch the video In This Article: What Is Cervicogenic Headache? Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms Cervicogenic Headache Causes and Risk Factors Diagnosis of Cervicogenic Headache Treatment of Cervicogenic Headache Surgical Options and Injections for Cervicogenic Headache Cervicogenic Headache Video Video Transcript A headache can be caused by a problem in the neck. What we call that is cervicogenic headache. Now most of the time, cervicogenic headaches and let me take a step back and say that most
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Causes of Neuropathic Pain Video

Watch the video In This Article: All About Neuropathy And Chronic Back Pain Understanding Neuropathy Symptoms Anatomy Of Nerve Pain Types of Back Pain Causes of Neuropathic Pain Video Video: Understanding Different Types of Back Pain Video Transcript Neuropathic pain differs from other types of pains. And in order to start talking about neuropathic pain, it's important to remember what pain actually is. So, nociceptive pain, or pain that we sense usually, is nerves transmitting
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Causes of Back Muscle Spasms Video

Watch the video In This Article: Causes of Back Muscle Spasms Video Back Spasm Treatment Video Video Transcript In discussing back muscle spasms, it's important to remember that sometimes spasms of the muscle in the back is just the spasm of the muscle. And when I say that, what I mean is muscles have their own intrinsic protective mechanisms. A muscle has a mechanism by which it senses the extent to which it is extended
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Back Strains and Sprains Video

Watch the video Video Transcript The most common cause of back pain is usually a muscle strain or muscle sprain and most of us, in our lifetime, will experience this at one time or another. These injuries or micro-injuries to the muscles, usually, occur due to strain to those muscles and they tend to recover on their own. The timeframe tends to be several days to 1-2 weeks. Usually to support that, initial rest -
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Weight Loss for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video A major component for hip osteoarthritis treatment is physical therapy and exercise. However, for many patients who may be overweight, it can be difficult to begin or continue an exercise routine due to joint pain from osteoarthritis. This video explains the role of pain management in exercising for weight loss for hip osteoarthritis. Video Transcript There are two major components to treating hip osteoarthritis. The first is taking away the inflammation from
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Video: Should I Exercise Through Joint Pain?

Watch the video During exercise, muscle pain and aches can be normal. However, flaring joint pain should be a warning to avoid certain exercises. As a rule, while exercising with arthritis, focus on strengthening the appropriate muscles and exercise around the pain rather than through it. Categories Ankle and foot pain Ankle and foot pain article Ankle and foot pain video Articles Back Pain Back pain article Back pain video condition we treat Degenerated discs
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Video: Is Arthritis Pain an Inevitable Part of Aging?

Watch the video Video Transcript Pain from arthritis is not an inevitable part of aging. As we all get older, there’s more likelihood to develop different problems: arthritic pains, heart disease, all sorts of things that may become more likely, but in no way makes them inevitable. In the same way that we wouldn’t accept that just because we get a little older, we may have cholesterol in our arteries and plaques and "Well, what
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Treatment for Knee Meniscus Tear Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treatment of meniscus tears begins with the accurate diagnosis of a meniscus tear. And then, there’s a couple of different ways of going about treating the meniscus, and it depends on how severe the pain is from a meniscus tear, and to an extent it will depend on what kind of meniscus tear and how completely the meniscus is torn. In general, what one wants to do is to take
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Surgery for Knee Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript When conservative care is not effective for knee osteoarthritis – and this is - it usually takes a while to get to this point, but sometimes it does get to the point where conservative care is not offering the kind of relief where a person can go about and do all the things that they want to be doing in their life and with their activities – there are surgical
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Surgery for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video When hip pain from osteoarthritis severely affects one's quality of life, surgery becomes an option worth considering. This video discusses when it is appropriate to consider hip surgery as well as the two major types of hip surgery for arthritis. Video Transcript There are two major components to treating hip osteoarthritis. The first is taking away the inflammation from the joint to alleviate the pain and the other is to make sure
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Supplements for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video There is some evidence supported by clinical studies that supplements such as Glucosamine and Chondroitin and Omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce inflammation in a joint caused by arthritis. Patients should talk to their doctors about whether supplements are appropriate to treat their hip osteoarthritis condition. This video discusses the effectiveness and risks of supplements for hip osteoarthritis. Video Transcript There are two major components to treating hip osteoarthritis. The first is
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Supplements and Medications for Knee Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating knee osteoarthritis is basically — we can break it down into two components. There’s reducing the inflammation within the knee, and then there’s getting all of the muscles and the biomechanics right to take the pressure off of the knee so that the same forces aren’t going through it so the inflammation doesn’t re-accumulate. A question that doctors who treat knee pain get asked a lot is about supplements. “Are there
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Physical Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating knee osteoarthritis is, basically, we can break it down into two components. There's reducing the inflammation within the knee, and then there's getting all of the muscles and the biomechanics right to take the pressure off of the knee so that the same forces aren’t going through it so the inflammation doesn’t re-accumulate. In general, physical therapy can be very effective in terms of getting the pain from arthritis to go away, and
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Physical Therapy for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video The goal of physical therapy for treating hip osteoarthritis is to reduce the pressure that causes the pain and inflammation in the hip joints by strengthening and stretching the surrounding muscles. Apart from the changing the biomechanics, a physical therapy program may also include passive modalities that aim toward treating the joint inflammation. Video Transcript There are two major components to treating hip osteoarthritis. The first is taking away the inflammation from
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Pes Anserine Bursitis Video

Watch the video In This Article: Knee (Prepatellar) Bursitis Prepatellar Bursitis Symptoms Causes of Knee Bursitis (Prepatellar Bursitis) Prepatellar Bursitis Diagnosis Prepatellar Bursitis Treatment Pes Anserine Bursitis Video Video Transcript Pes anserine bursitis is a cause of knee pain. The pes anserine bursa is a bursa that sits just inferior and medial to the knee joint. You have 160 bursa scattered throughout your body. Basically, the bursa are like bubble wrapping in packages. The bursa are fluid-filled sacs that
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Patellofemoral Syndrome Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Patellofemoral syndrome is a common cause of knee pain. It generally presents as anterior knee pain, or pain in the front of the knee. Patellofemoral syndrome is a problem of the tracking of the kneecap within the knee. Essentially, see here's a knee, this is the patella, the knee cap. And there's a groove in which the knee cap is supposed to glide as one goes through life bending and
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Patellar Tendinitis Video

Watch the video This video accompanies: Causes of Knee Pain Video Video Transcript Patellar Tendinitis is a cause of knee pain. The patellar tendon attaches the knee cap to the shin bone, to the tibia. And patellar tendinitis is an inflammation of that tendon. It’s also commonly referred to as jumper’s knee because a lot of people who participate in sports that involve a lot of jumping, such as basketball or volleyball, tend to develop, or
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Knee Meniscus Tear Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Knee meniscus tears is one of the common causes of knee pain. The meniscus is basically the shock absorber within the knee. And you can tear either the medial (the inside) meniscus or the lateral meniscus. The inside meniscus is the more common one to be injured. There are two general ways in which a meniscus becomes torn. Either there can be an acute injury, such as a twisting injury,
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Injections for Knee Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating knee osteoarthritis is, basically, we can break it down into two components. There's reducing the inflammation within the knee, and then there's getting all of the muscles and the biomechanics right to take the pressure off of the knee so that the same forces aren’t going through it so the inflammation doesn’t re-accumulate. When the pain’s not getting better with physical therapy, or if the pain is interfering with
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Injections for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript There are two major components to treating hip osteoarthritis. The first is taking away the inflammation from the joint to alleviate the pain; and the other is to make sure that we address the biomechanics to take the pressure off the hip so that the inflammation doesn’t return. When symptoms are persistent despite physical therapy, or if the symptoms are getting in the way of participating with physical therapy, there are
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Causes of Knee Pain Video

Watch the video In This Article: Possible Causes of Severe Knee Pain How Infection Can Lead to Severe Knee Pain Causes of Knee Pain Video Knee pain can stem from a degenerative (arthritic) condition, a systemic condition, or from a trauma. It is important to understand the cause of one's specific type of knee pain in order to make a correct diagnosis of knee arthritis. This video explains what causes knee pain, the symptoms that
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Activity Modification for Hip Osteoarthritis Video

Watch the video One goal of treatment for hip osteoarthritis is to reduce the pain and inflammation in the hip joint so that the patient can return to fully participating in activities or performing everyday tasks. It is important for doctor and patient to discuss methods to perform activities in ways that circumvent the pain rather than those that aggravate it. This video discusses why it can be helpful to modify certain activities to counteract pain from
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Video: Why Is Exercise Important for Neck Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript Doing a regular set of exercises that incorporates cardiovascular, stretching, strengthening is so important for so many different reasons for everyone. For neck pain, even just for healthy necks, doing a set of exercises for the neck is also very important. The neck basically has a really hard job every day - it holds up your head. Your head weighs a little more than a bowling ball. So, if you
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Video: Why is Exercise Important for Lower Back Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript Exercise is such an important thing for all of us to be doing for a whole host of reasons. Doing the right kinds of exercises for the lower back as part of an overall exercise routine can be such an important thing. Something that I tell people when they come in and they have lower back pain from a variety of different causes, and they’re concerned that this is going
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Video: What is the Best Mattress for Back Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript "What's the best mattress that I should be sleeping on? What's the best mattress for me?" While in general we tend to say that a firmer mattress tends to be better for a lot of people, the real answer is that everyone is going to have a better mattress for them - everyone has the best mattress for that person. There's no substitute for going to a store and trying
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Video: If My Back or Joints Hurt, Should I Work Through the Pain?

Watch the video Video Transcript People with spine and joint pain often ask their doctors if they should be working through the pain, if they should be working out, should they be taking it easy. And, in general, the answer is that joints need movements, spines need movement in order to nourish them, in order to keep the muscles around them strong and limber to take the pressure off them so they don't see the
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Treatment for Spinal Stenosis Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Spinal stenosis is narrowing of the spinal canal. It is often multi-factorial and involves wear and tear of the spine where the facet joints - the hinge joints in the back of the spine - become arthritic and have bone spurs that then encroach upon the nerves as they exit the spine. Those facet joints themselves can become painful and cause axial lower back pain. The nerves are irritated, which
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Treatment for Lumbar Radiculopathy Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating lumbar radiculopathy begins with a good understanding of what's causing the radiculopathy and the anatomy that is involved. Often one of the first approaches is to address the biomechanics - physical therapy. It's stretching, strengthening, it's trying to get all the muscles right to help take the pressure off of the spine, off of the hole where the nerve comes out so that the nerves have a chance to
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Treatment for Lumbar Herniated Disc Video

Watch the video Video Transcript The first answer for how you treat a lumbar herniated disc is that you don't. A number of people will have disc herniations and not have any symptoms from those herniations, so just because you see a disc herniation doesn't mean it's necessarily symptomatic. You have to put the MRI findings in the proper context and that context is in the presentation of the entire person. The goal of treating
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Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Degenerative disc disease in the spine is basically wear and tear of the discs. As we get older, the water, the hydration within the discs tends to leave and you end up with a drier disc. Now, degenerative discs don't necessarily cause any pain. It’s very common to get an MRI and see degenerative discs that are totally asymptomatic. When discs cause pain, it’s because there’s a tear inside of
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Treatment for Chronic Lower Back Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A question and a challenge that comes up for anyone who treats spine for long enough is, "How do you treat chronic lower back pain?" Chronic is defined as pain that lasts, in the lower back, that lasts for longer than three months. Here what I'm talking about is chronic lower back pain in the sense of somebody that has been through multiple different treatments - seen a lot of
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Treatment for Cervical Radiculopathy Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating cervical radiculopathy begins with a good understanding of the anatomy that's underlying the radiculopathy so you can focus your efforts appropriately. Essentially, treating a cervical radiculopathy though is like treating most other musculoskeletal ailments, which is that we need to reduce the inflammation, in this case around the nerve root, and then we need to address the biomechanics so we can take the pressure off of that nerve root
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Treatment for Cervical Herniated Disc Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Treating cervical herniated disc depends on whether or not that disc is symptomatic or not. So, not all herniated discs in the cervical spine and other parts of the spine necessarily are causing any symptoms - often they're not. Certainly cervical herniated discs - like other discs - can cause symptoms. When they do, the treatment is focused around reducing the inflammation and the swelling from around the disc and
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Spinal Causes of Foot Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript The most common cause of foot pain is certainly within the foot itself. People develop arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, you can have a neuroma within the foot; there are a number of causes within the foot itself that would cause foot pain. Sometimes, however, the cause of foot pain is actually coming from the spine. The same sorts of things that can cause pain radiating into the leg can cause just
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Sacroiliac Joint Block Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A sacroiliac joint injection is an injection into the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint - just for anatomy's sake - here's the pelvis. This is the front. This is the back. This is the sacrum; and this bone right here is the ilium. This joint line is the sacroiliac joint. A sacroiliac joint injection is where we put medicine into the joint. We do this for two important reasons. The
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Physiatry for Back Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript As a physiatrist, or a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor who sub-specializes in interventional spine and joint pain, I think of our field as, essentially, primary care for musculoskeletal medicine. Our field is ideally suited for aggressively diagnosing and conservatively treating most musculoskeletal medical problems. Depending on the problem, depending on the diagnosis, physiatrists can help to coordinate the entire care from physical therapy, when appropriate, to the modalities that
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Lumbar Radiculopathy Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Lumbar radiculopathy is irritation of a nerve root as it exits the spine. Radiculopathy: "Radic-" is just Latin for "nerve root" and "-opathy" is "pathology.” So it’s pathology of a nerve root. Commonly, people refer to it as a pinched nerve in the back. Lumbar radiculopathy comes from a variety, can arise from a variety of factors within the spine. You can have a herniated disc, there can be some arthritis in
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Epidural Steroid Block Video

Watch the video Video Transcript An epidural steroid injection is an injection literally in the epidural space. "Epi-" is Latin for "outside of" and "-dura" is the "lining of the nerve root." So, an epidural steroid injection is literally an injection in the epidural space. We use epidurals for a variety of reasons in the spine. We use them one, for diagnostics—sometimes we put medicine around a certain nerve root in order to determine whether
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Cervical Radiculopathy Video

Watch the video Video Transcript A cervical radiculopathy is commonly referred to as a pinched nerve in the neck. Basically cervical radiculopathy, "Radic-" is Latin for "nerve root" and "-opathy" pathology, pathology of that nerve root. It is basically irritation of a nerve as it exits the spine. A cervical radiculopathy will typically present with neck pain radiating down into the arm and sometimes into the hand. The pain is usually more electric, shooting, radiating
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Causes of Lower Back Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript I am Dr. Grant Cooper from the Princeton Spine and Joint Center. I have been asked to talk to you today about what causes lower back pain. When we talk about lower back pain we have to make an important distinction when we talk about the causes between acute lower back pain and chronic lower back pain. Chronic is anything that lasts for longer than three months. Acute lower back
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Causes of Leg Pain Video

Watch the video Video Transcript There are two basic ways that the spine can cause leg pain. The first is referral pain from structures within the spine itself, such as the disc or the facet joint or the sacroiliac joint. That pain tends to be more dull, deep, vague, achy. The way that we usually think about pain coming from the spine into the leg is more radiating, electric, burning pain. This comes from irritation
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Causes of Foot Drop Video

Watch the video Video Transcript Foot drop is the inability to dorsiflex the foot, so, to pull the foot up. Foot drop often presents as people saying that they are tripping over themselves. Essentially, it’s hard to clear the foot, so people might, after they go for a long walk they might find that they start to trip over themselves. As the foot drop gets worse, then that can become more pronounced and more profound
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Diana Forconi – Condition and Treatment at Princeton Spine & Joint Center

“A number of years ago, I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. The pain got so severe that my primary doctor suggested that I see a spine specialist and see where he liked to go from there or what he would suggest for me. So naturally it was an operation. I was desperate, agreed to it. And after the operation, he said, well, it didn’t come out that great and I’m not going to even send

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Patient Testimonial – Michael Kessler, Injury and Treatment & the Princeton Spine & Joint Center

Patient Testimonial – Michael Kessler, Injury and Treatment & the Princeton Spine & Joint Center “I have been a patient of Princeton Spine & Joint Center for close to 10 years. My internist had referred me to the practice and I saw Dr. Cooper. I had issues with my lower back and certainly wanted to get it treated as quickly as possible without the need for any surgery. Fortunately my symptoms were not of the

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Patient Testimonial – Donald Sears & Dr. Funiciello

Donald Sears – Injury and Treatment at Princeton Spine & Joint Center ‘My daughter and I had been planning a milestone adventure, a 30 day hike along a portion of the Appalachian trail in the year that she turns 30 and I turned 60 years old. We were really excited about the prospects and began making preparations, but then I suffered first a knee injury and then I herniated four discs in my upper back.

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Dr. Grant Cooper – Degenerative Disc Disease

Video Transcript Degenerative Disc Disease explained by Grant Cooper MD, Princeton Spine & Joint Center:One of the things that I've noticed over the last 10 years or so is that when patients come in and they've been given a diagnosis of degenerative disc disease, they come in with a heaviness and they say, 'Doc, I have degenerative disc disease, so I don't know what you can do for me.' And I've realized over the years
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Dr. Scott Curtis – Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator Cuff Injuries explained by Dr. Scott Curtis: As a sports medicine doctor, one of the most common complaints that I’ll see from patients is shoulder pain. And one of the most common reasons for one to develop shoulder pain is because of a rotator cuff injury or tear. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that hold the shoulder together. So in this model, the collarbone sits in the front, the shoulder

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Dr. Zinovy Meyler – Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms

Cervicogenic Headache Symptoms explained by Zinovy Meyler MD, Princeton Spine & Joint Center: There are many different types of headaches that people can experience. When I see patients that are referred with a headache, usually it’s a headache that stems from the neck. It’s important to note that most headaches actually do not come from the neck. And it’s very important to rule out any other sources of the headache because it can be an

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Dr. Zinovy Meyler – Cervicogenic Headache Causes

Cervicogenic Headache Causes explained by Zinovy Meyler MD, Princeton Spine & Joint Center: In order to talk about the reasons to have this type of a headache I need to say a couple of things about the anatomy. If we visualize the spine and think of it as just a stack of bones, each individual bone, the vertebrae, comes into contact with the adjacent bone on multiple spots. The two areas that we’re concerned in

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Dr. Zinovy Meyler – Cervicogenic Headache Diagnosis

Cervicogenic Headache Diagnosis explained by Zinovy Meyler D.O., Princeton Spine & Joint Center: When I see a patient, in terms of diagnosing this issue, the first thing is the symptoms that the patient experiences. That’s a very important part of the diagnosis, which is then followed by the signs that I can elicit on the physical examination. Once that is put together, that actually tends to be the major portion of the diagnosis in which

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Dr. Zinovy Meyler – Cervicogenic Headache Treatments

Cervicogenic Headache Treatments explained by Zinovy Meyler D.O, Princeton Spine & Joint Center: Once the diagnosis is confirmed the next step is formulating the treatment. In formulating the treatment it is very important to remember that cervicogenic headaches are not one entity. It’s a syndrome. And as such it is comprised of multiple different factors. So when we’re treating this, it’s important to remember that we need to address all the aspects of what led