Ischemic Spine Is Most Common Cause of Back Pain: How to Diagnose and Treat

Lack of blood flow (ischemia) is the most common cause of back pain. The disc is poorly perfused even under optimal conditions. Everybody knows that the brain and the heart need blood supply, but so does the spine. Too often the search is only for the "pain generator," and the "underlying cause" has been forgotten. We are looking at the TREE with a microscope, but we've forgotten to look at the FOREST. If all the trees have Dutch Elm disease, will it help to remove the most affected tree. This book is like an "antibiotic" to improve all the trees in the forest; to improve blood supply to the entire spine. Better blood supply helps prevent progression of degenerative disc disease and the cascade of compensations that follow it like foraminal stenosis, central stenosis, bridging osteophytes, DISH, OPLL, OLF, Schmorl's nodes, radiculopathy, myelopathy, disc space calcification and autofusion. Atherosclerosis, lumbar artery stenosis, gallstones, fibroids in the uterus, diverticulosis and fatty liver all go together. Vegan diet is the easy way to lower blood viscosity and to prevent and reverse atherosclerosis. The author is an interventional radiologist and neuroradiologist who used to run a spinal injection clinic and who has seen tens of thousands of spinal CT scans and MRI's and who has observed patterns of disease and outcomes for decades. Best outcomes come from deep understanding of disease and of treatment options. Motivated, educated patients and doctors are able to get the best results.