Orthopedics, Spine & Sports Medicine

Patient Story

Collapsed Disc Spine Patient Races to Recovery

January 19th, 2012 By Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center

For years, triathlete Denise Novicki suffered from excruciating spinal pain in her lower back. Founder of Tri2Remember, a triathlon club that raises money to fight Alzheimer’s disease, Denise had always led an active lifestyle, but her back pain made it difficult, if not impossible, to enjoy her favorite pastime.

“I was in such immense pain that I was looking for some very trusted resources to manage my pain,” Denise says. She chose the Emory Spine Center at the Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital for assessment and a solution.

“What we’ve tried to do here at the Emory Spine Center is take the worry and the guessing out of a spine or back problem,” says Dr. Scott Boden (pictured left), director of the Center. “When people come here, we help them figure out what’s wrong and give them lots of different options.”

Before the spine doctors at the Emory Spine Center suggest surgery, they investigate all possible nonsurgical interventions, but they also know that, in some cases, a simple surgery may make the difference between experiencing debilitating pain and living pain free.

To find out the cause of her back pain, Denise met with spine surgeon Dr. John Heller, who discovered that she had a collapsed disc. It was clear to Dr. Heller that surgery would bring Denise relief and allow her to get her life back. “Denise came to us seeking advice on how to improve back pain that had really gotten in the way of her normal lifestyle,” says Dr. Heller. “She was an avid athlete and was having tremendous difficulty maintaining a training regiment, let alone a normal, everyday life.”

Before her spine surgery, Denise signed up for an upcoming Ironman distance race. She wanted to be sure she had a goal in place that would help her stay focused on recovery. She achieved her goal. “Coming into doing the Ironman, I had a different perspective than probably most athletes do, because I came to the table with thankfulness that I am actually able to compete. I did what I set out to do, and I couldn’t have done it without the team at Emory.” To learn more about Denise’s experience with spine surgery at Emory, check out the short video below:

Dr. Boden says, “The thing I love about taking care of patients with spine problems is that we have a real opportunity to help patients get their lives back, and that’s a very special thing.”

The spine doctors at the Emory Spine Center are dedicated to excellent spine care. “Some places, people are part-time spine and part-time hips and knees, but what’s unique about our group is that everybody primarily focuses on taking care of patients with spine problems, teaching trainees who are learning about the spine, and doing research to try and explore new and better ways to treat spinal problems,” says Dr. Boden (pictured left). “If you end up coming to Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital, you’ll leave saying that you’ve never been in a hospital that’s anything like it.”

Have you had spinal surgery at the Emory Spine Center? We’d like to hear about your experience. Please take a moment to give us feedback in the comments section below.

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Female High School Soccer Players 64% More Likely to Suffer from Concussions Than Males

November 7th, 2011 By Morgan Griffith

Female athletes concussion risk She’s only 16, but she’s already been playing soccer for over a decade. In that time, Alex Anne Matthews, a junior at the Lovett School in the Buckhead area of Atlanta, has broken several bones and sustained two concussions. Unfortunately, according to a new study, the injuries Alex has sustained over her currently 12-year-long soccer career are not only common, but more common for female high school soccer players than males.

During a soccer game on September 4th of this year, Alex hit the ground with force. “She came up from behind me and slide-tackled my feet out from under me, and I landed on my side, and the first thing to hit the ground was my head,” she recalls. Alex’s parents looked on as it happened, and as her mother, Anne Matthews puts it, “Alex Anne got up like she always does and staggered a little to her right. And Chip and I looked at each other and went, ‘that doesn’t look good.”

Despite a noticeable headache, Alex charged on and played in a second soccer game that same afternoon, but it wasn’t too long before routine concussion symptoms: nausea, dizziness, and blurred vision set in. According to Dr. Kenneth Mautner of Emory Sports Medicine, “There’s actually sheering forces that occur inside the brain, and the brain literally gets shaken inside the skull.”

But, according to a new study, it’s much more common (64% more common, in fact) for female high school soccer players such as Alex to sustain concussions than it is for males playing the same sport. So what makes concussions more common for female soccer players? Dr. Mautner says it could be a few things.

“Something just as simple as girls report concussions more because they’re more likely to say when they’re hurt and not feeling well,” according to Mautner, could be one reason. There is also evidence to show that stronger neck muscles in men and their ability to absorb shock more effectively may lower their concussion risk, or that hormones may make female athletes more susceptible to sustaining an injury.

Female athletes may also take longer to recover from concussions. For both men and women, however, Dr. Mautner emphasizes the importance of not returning to the field too soon. “There’s no one test to say you’re ready or you’re not ready, so we see how their symptoms are. They need to be completely asymptomatic at rest, they need to be asymptomatic with exertion.”

The findings of the study are not intended to alarm parents or child athletes, but rather, to help raise awareness around concussion symptoms and the importance of taking heed to them when they present themselves. Nausea, headaches, confusion, drowsiness, sensitivity to noise and dizziness are a few of the most common concussion symptoms.

Thankfully for Alex, six weeks after sustaining her most recent concussion, she is back on the field and pursuing her next goal, to play soccer in college. We’ll be keeping an eye out for her on ESPN in the coming years.

For more information on Dr. Mautner or Emory Sports Medicine, visit: www.emoryhealthcare.org/sports-medicine

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Patient Story: Cynthia & Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

October 10th, 2011 By Dr. Yoon

Did you know spine surgery can now be done with only a small incision? Minimally invasive spine surgery is a relatively new set of techniques that has opened up surgery as an option for people who might otherwise have continued to suffer without surgery.

Patients often have the preconceived notion that spinal surgery will put them in bed and unable to walk for a long period of time. The fact is most spinal surgery does not lead to such a disabled state. And with minimally invasive surgery, patients can get back on their feet, out the hospital, and back to their normal routine faster than they’d ever have thought possible.

Cynthia Burnett is a great example of a patient who’s had minimally invasive spine surgery at Emory with excellent the results. In 2008, 56-year-old Cynthia Burnett woke up one day with excruciating nerve pain down her leg. Over the next two years, she suffered with this pain, despite multiple epidural injections. The pain just would not go away, even with the best non-operative treatment. Cynthia said she felt as if she’d aged 10 years. Her daughter recommended she come to Emory, where Cynthia saw one of our physiatrists, a nonsurgical physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating spine pain. He diagnosed a spinal stenosis (nerve pinch) and a slippage of one of her vertebrae on another. After careful analysis and discussions of options, she was told she’d be a good candidate for surgery. That’s when Cynthia came to me to discuss the surgical option.

At first, Cynthia didn’t want surgery. She said later, “My big concern about having surgery was the invasiveness. I’m healthy. I don’t go to the doctor very much. I haven’t been very sick. I just really didn’t want to choose to go under the knife.”

While not all cases can be treated with minimally invasive techniques, Cynthia was a great candidate for minimally invasive surgery. If this had not been the case, we could have used a traditional surgical technique with good results. But it would have required using, a relatively large incision to visualize the problem areas of the spine, thus a longer recovery time.

VIDEO: Cynthia’s Story of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Instead, with Cynthia, we used highly specialized retractors that are placed through small incisions with X-ray guidance to minimize the soft tissue damage. Through these small incisions, the spinal nerves were decompressed (“unpinched”), and the slipped vertebra was stabilized with a spinal fusion procedure. The factors that enabled me to do this include advanced surgical instruments, advanced imaging systems (three-dimensional computer-guided navigation), and years of surgical experience. These things lead to surgical results that are safer, less invasive, and more reliable than ever before.

Cynthia had the surgery December 16, 2010. Afterward, she said, “It was amazing to me how easy it was to walk around, and my nerve pain was gone immediately.” Cynthia also said, “It’s amazing to think they could do that with the small incision that I have. I wish I had done it years ago. And I’ve already told other people who are in pain, you need to go.” She was truly thrilled. At Emory, our goal is to get patients back to health as quickly as possible. That’s what minimally invasive surgery is all about.

Have you had minimally invasive spine surgery, or would you like to learn more about minimally invasive spine surgery at Emory? We welcome your questions and feedback in the comments section below.

About S. Tim Yoon, MD:
S. Tim Yoon, MD, PhD, specializes in minimally invasive surgery and is assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of Orthopedics at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Atlanta. He is board certified in orthopedic surgery. Dr. Yoon started practicing at Emory in 2000.