Moderator: Jerome Schofferman, MD
It is no secret that our population is aging, and as a result spine specialists are seeing an increasing number of older patients. Older age can be a time of activity, creativity and curiosity, but if a person has significant neck pain, function is often limited. There might be difficulty playing with grandchildren, sitting and reading, working on a computer, participating in sports such as golf and tennis, and even going for a hike. In this symposium we discuss the causes of neck pain in the aged adult, and offer evidence-based suggestions for treatment. We discuss medication management, use of exercise, and spinal injections for diagnosis and therapy. Many of the things we describe can be put into practice on “Monday morning.”
Upon completion of this session, participants should gain strategies to:
- Know the differential diagnosis of neck pain in an aging patient population;
- Discuss an appropriate exercise program that is patient friendly and can be taught quickly in the doctor’s office and then followed up by a physical therapist;
- Prescribe appropriate medications, when necessary;
- Recommend intraspinal injections for the patient who is severely impaired and has not responded to other therapies;
- Realize that stenosis and even mild myelopathy are not usually emergencies and can be managed with careful and regular follow-up.
Agenda
Introduction
Jerome Schofferman, MD
Differential Diagnosis
Alison A. Stout, DO
Medications
Daniel J. Mazanec, MD
Exercise I
Ryan A. Tauzell, MA, PT, MDT
Exercise II
Jerome Schofferman, MD
Injections
E. Kano Mayer, MD
Cervical Stenosis and Myelopathy
Jerome Schofferman, MD
Discussion, Questions and Answers
Faculty Panel