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It is commonly treated with surgery but can also be treated with spinal injections, physical therapy, chiropractic treatments, or physiatry.Ĭheck out the archives of our Spine Health Journal for more. Degenerative disc disease is more common in people who are smokers, obese, or engage in heavy physical labor. This degeneration prompts the spine to create bone spurs, putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerves on the back, causing low back pain. As you age, the amount of fluid in the spinal discs decreases, causing the space between vertebrae to shrink. The spine is composed of 24 vertebrae, which are separated by discs that allow the spine to flex, bend, and twist. What is Degenerative Disc Disease and How is it Treated?ĭegenerative disc disease is not actually a disease, but rather describes the gradual degeneration of intervertebral discs. Some of the newest pain management techniques actually damage the pain-causing nerves intentionally by using heat or electricity. These techniques include physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, and epidural steroid injections. Basically, surgery is typically offered to patients with severe pain or progressive nerve damage.Īlternatives to back surgery include many non-surgical techniques aimed at reducing or eliminating back pain. Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal column, while spondylolisthesis describes the instability of the vertebrae of the spine. Some common diagnoses that are operated on are herniated discs, vertebral fractures, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis. Different conditions will also call for different treatment approaches. There are many qualifiers to candidacy, including age, weight, smoking habits, type of surgery, etc. On the other hand, a decompression refers to the removal of small pieces of bones or discs in order to relieve pressure on the spinal cord and nerves within the spinal cavity.Ī variety of people are candidates for back surgery. Rods, screws, and bone grafts are typically used to aid in the fusion process. A spinal fusion describes joining two or more vertebrae together in order to stabilize the spine. The two main categories of back surgery are fusions and decompressions. Back surgery usually refers to a spinal operation that is intended to alleviate a patient’s back pain. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies here. If we could spend a little more time working on performance and volume, everything would work more effectively." In August 2019, National Spine and Pain Centers and another pain management group in Virginia paid the Justice Department $3.3 million to settle allegations that they illegally billed for medical services as if they were provided by physicians, when they were actually performed by physician assistants and nurse practitioners. "Fifty percent reduction in volume is completely unacceptable from our standpoint. Meshkin allegedly stated in the email, according to The Orange County Register. It's down 50 percent from last month," Mr. "We get a ton of emails about payment from you guys, but your volume keeps going down. Prolonged sitting with poor posture may cause your spine to undergo. Meshkin seemed to suggest that the issue could be resolved if the practice ordered more tests. Upper back pain may be caused by injuries, degenerative changes, and other factors.
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Representatives of National Spine & Pain Centers representatives allegedly said they would stop ordering Proove's genetic tests until it was paid overdue kickbacks, according to the report. Defendants concealed the scheme by disguising the bribes as clinical research fees, the U.S. Meshkin, allegedly submitted about $45 million in Medicare claims for genetic tests that were "tainted by illegal kickbacks," according to the indictment, with CMS paying the company about $20 million between 20. The alleged scheme paid pain management physicians kickbacks ranging from $100 to $150 for each test ordered for Medicare and Medicaid patients The company offered pharmacogenetic tests intended to determine a patient's risk of abusing opioids and how patients metabolized certain drugs, according to the report. The indictment also named three former Proove Biosciences executives as co-conspirators: Steven Samuel Fichtelberg, Kirt Thomas Pfaff and Bruce Walter Gardner. District Court in San Diego on multiple charges that include conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Proove Biosciences founder and President Brian Javaade Meshkin was arraigned July 12 in U.S. Three physicians affiliated with Rockville, MD.-based National Spine & Pain Centers have been named as defendants in a $3.5 million kickback scheme that allegedly ordered unnecessary genetic tests for Medicare and Medicaid patients, The Orange County Register reported July 21. $3.5M kickback scheme allegedly involved 3 physicians at Maryland spine group