Physician responses to patient e-mail questions

Spine-health.com frequently receives e-mails from patients who have questions about their back problems and treatment options, including herniated discs, sciatica, spine fusion and other back surgeries.

Although we don’t provide individual responses, periodically, Peter Ullrich, Jr., MD (an orthopedic spine surgeon and Medical Director for Spine-health.com) will take time to respond to the more frequently asked questions. We’ve published the responses to patient questions about specific back problems in this special section,

The doctor is in!

ALWAYS consult a medical professional in person to diagnose and treat back problems

Please understand that the following physician responses to patient questions represent the opinion of one physician based on some very limited information provided in an e-mail. This section is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical help or advice, as a medical history, physical exam, and often diagnostic tests are all required in order to diagnose and treat back pain.

Please choose from the following list of back pain and neck pain topics below: 

• Cervical herniated disc diagnosis

• Cervical herniated disc treatments

• Chronic pain and pain management

• Degenerative disc disease

• Exercise for back problems

• Exercise for back surgery

• Facet joint and epidural injections

• Failed back surgery and scar tissue

• Leg pain and numbness

• Lumbar herniated disc diagnosis

• Lumbar herniated disc surgery (Part I)

• Lumbar herniated disc surgery (Part II)

• Lumbar herniated disc treatments

• Osteoarthritis and facet joint problems

• Sciatica diagnosis

• Sciatica treatments

• Spinal stenosis

• Spine fusion surgery

• Spondylolisthesis

• Vertebral and spinal fractures

• Upper back problems

Additional disclaimer: Spine-health.com does not offer medical advice or treatment. This information does not replace the physician-patient relationship, and the information is not medical advice or treatment. It should only be considered as one physician's opinion based on an extremely limited amount of information. Patients should always seek the advice of a trained health professional for back pain or any health condition. Please note that the contents of this section have not been peer reviewed by Spine-health.com’s Medical Advisory Board.