Spine conditions
Start with what you actually feel.
Most people arrive without a diagnosis, or with one they are not sure about. Pick the description closest to your symptoms and it will point you at the right explanation.
Symptom finder
What brought you here?
- Pain running down my legSharp, electric or burning pain from the buttock into the thigh, calf or foot, sometimes with numbness.Sciatica and Lumbar Nerve Pain
- Pain running down my armPain from the neck into the shoulder blade or arm, often with tingling in specific fingers.Cervical Radiculopathy
- I cannot walk as far as I used toLegs feel heavy or numb after a certain distance, and sitting down relieves it within minutes.Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
- My hands have gone clumsyButtons and coins are fiddly, handwriting has changed, or balance feels different. Often painless.Cervical Spinal Stenosis and Cervical Myelopathy
- Deep pain in one buttockWorse getting out of a car, rolling over in bed, or standing on one leg. Often treated as sciatica for years.SI Joint Dysfunction
- My back hurts and I do not know whyPain that stays in the back rather than travelling into a leg.Low Back Pain
- My neck hurts and I do not know whyAching or stiffness across the neck and shoulders, without arm symptoms.Neck Pain
- I was given a diagnosis and want to understand itA report mentioning disc degeneration, a slipped vertebra, or a herniation.Degenerative Disc Disease
None of these quite fit, or several of them do? That is common, and sorting it out is what the first visit is for.
By region
All conditions treated.
Neck
- Neck PainMost neck pain is muscular or arthritic, settles within weeks, and needs no imaging at all.
- Cervical RadiculopathyThe neck may ache, but the symptom that brings people in is the arm: pain running into the shoulder blade, upper arm, forearm or specific fingers, often with pins and needles and sometimes with a grip that has become unreliable.
- Cervical Spinal Stenosis and Cervical MyelopathyThe early signs are easy to dismiss because they are not painful.
Lower back
- Low Back PainMost low back pain is mechanical, improves substantially within weeks, and needs no imaging.
- Sciatica and Lumbar Nerve PainPatients describe sharp, electric, burning or dragging pain running down the leg in a line, sometimes with numbness, calf tightness or weakness in the foot.
- Lumbar Spinal StenosisThe pattern is distinctive.
- SpondylolisthesisSome patients mainly notice back pain and a sense of fatigue or instability in the low back.
Both regions
Already been told you need surgery?
A second opinion is welcome for its own sake.
Particularly if a fusion has been recommended. Outside imaging is reviewed directly rather than from the radiologist's summary.
Where to be seen
Consultations are available at all eight Academy offices.
Not sure which is closest? See the areas we serve, or call (312) 313-1086.