Here’s a list of red flags meant to let you know whether it’s time to say goodbye to your prospective spine surgeon. (Some warning signs are obvious; many less so.)
If you’re considering becoming a patient of a new physician, visit the Certification Matters website to find out whether they have been certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
Florida
The Ergonomics Program in Back Pain at the Rosomoff Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center offers personalized health services to individuals suffering from a range of musculoskeletal disorders, with a focus on back pain prevention and treatment.
Illinois
Each year, the American Pain Society gives a Clinical Center of Excellence in Pain Management Award to five or so pain management facilities around the country. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago was a winner in 2009, the third year of the annual awards. You can find practitioners, locations, and information on different conditions and how the RIC can treat them. Their Center for Pain Management has a number of excellent programs to treat chronic pain, involving long-term strategies for developing a healthy, balanced, and active lifestyle.
Barry Meier, a reporter for the New York Times, has written several important and enlightening books on the topic of painkillers, including Painkiller: A “Wonder” Drug’s Trail of Addiction and Death and A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine’s Biggest Mistake.
Washington
The Washington State Agency Medical Directors website harbors some progressive thinking on the matter of dealing with dependency on opioid painkillers. It’s kind of technical, but worth inspecting. While you’re on the site, click on the PDF called Cautious, Evidence-Based Opioid Prescribing.
California
Penney Cowan, the founder and director of the American Chronic Pain Association, provides a constructive, non-opioid painkiller perspective for patients here.
Missouri
I met Dr. Heidi Prather, D.O., Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurology and Co-Director Director of Orthopaedic Spine Center at Washington University School of Medicine, at a spine surgery conference where many of the other doctors (mostly surgeons) did everything they could to avoid me. Dr. Prather and I chatted for a couple of hours about her interests – women’s health; in particular, low back pain, radiculopathy, sacroiliac joint pain and pelvic dysfunction. A few weeks later, I had a woman call her who had been scheduled to undergo a two-level spinal fusion…but who turned out not to need any type of surgery. It can be tough to get a hold of Dr. Prather – her office tends to put people off, telling them she only sees dancers and athletes. Not true. If you’re in the St. Louis area, keep trying, because it’s worth it.
