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How to Identify and Treat Sacroiliitis

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Up to  25% of lower back pain  is caused by an inflammation of the sacroiliac joints, a condition known as sacroiliitis. You have two sacroiliac joints: one on each side of your hips. The sacroiliac joints attach your sacrum (i.e., part of your lower back that lies between the tailbone and your lowest vertebrae) to your ilium (i.e., the upper portion of your pelvic bones). Brian Fuller, MD , and our expert team members at Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians in Denver, Colorado, recognize that  lower back pain  can be frustrating to live with and its underlying causes may be difficult to detect. Here, we share a few insights into what sacroiliitis is, how to know if you might have it, and how to treat it. A joint you can’t move Normally, when you think about your joints, you think about the “hinge” or “ball and socket” connections between two bones that allow you to do things like bend, flex, and rotate. Your sacroiliac joints, however, are tightly attached to each other with a series
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Rotator Cuff Tears: 5 Surgery-Free Solutions

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Rotator cuff tears can be inconvenient, painful, and aggravating. For severe tears, surgery may be the only option to decrease your pain and restore full mobility in the shoulder joint. However, for small tears, you may be able to take advantage of non-surgical solutions. At  Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians  in Denver, Colorado,  Dr. Brian Fuller  has a range of conservative treatments that can help your body heal from a mild rotator cuff tear and  manage shoulder pain  without resorting to surgery. Rotator cuff basics Your rotator cuff consists of four muscles and tendons that work together to stabilize your shoulder. This allows you to lift, lower, and rotate your arm at the shoulder joint. If damage is done to any of the four parts, it can cause pain and immobility. A severe rotator cuff tear that rips apart a tendon or pulls the tendon completely away from the bone can happen due to an accident or a sports injury, and may require shoulder surgery or even a shoulder replacement
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How the Latest Spinal Cord Stimulators Offer Drug-Free Relief From Chronic Back Pain

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Millions of Americans experience persistent or chronic  back pain  that interferes with their ability to perform routine daily activities. When your back pain becomes chronic, it can be difficult to walk to the mailbox, do laundry, or load the dishwasher. Getting a restful night’s sleep can also become an impossible daydream when you have chronic back pain. Brian Fuller, MD , is a spine and pain management expert who leads the team at  Mountain Spine & Pain Specialists  in Denver. Dr. Fuller understands the debilitating effects of chronic back pain. When physical therapy and other conservative treatments fail, he often urges his patients to consider the benefits of spinal cord stimulators for relief from their chronic back pain. The basics of spinal cord stimulators Spinal cord stimulators  are small medical devices implanted just under the skin to help manage chronic back pain by blocking pain signals that travel along your nerves to your brain. If your brain doesn’t get the messa
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Why Radiofrequency Ablation May Be the Answer to Your Back Pain

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Blame it on your own two feet and your upright stance:  Back pain  in human beings is pervasive. If you haven’t experienced it yet, chances are you will.  But if you have chronic back pain (i.e., back pain that’s lasted three months or more), you may not find comfort in knowing that you’re far from alone. Taking pain medications, or just suffering through the discomfort and trying to get on with life takes a heavy toll, both physically and emotionally. That’s why  Brian Fuller, MD  and his team at  Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians  in Denver offer minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for long-term back pain relief. Turn down the pain signals When you’re in chronic pain, your nerves continually send pain signals to your brain that keep you in a state of discomfort. Pain alerts your brain to the fact that something’s gone wrong in your body. In the short term, pain prevents you from further injuring a weakened or traumatized body part, but if it goes on for too long, pain
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Myths and Facts About PRP Therapy

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Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has grown in popularity over the last few years, thanks to its ability to rapidly heal sports injuries. This minimally-invasive treatment uses your own blood to help you heal quickly. Even celebrity athletes like Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal, have used PRP therapy to help get them back on the playing field.  You’ve probably heard a lot about PRP therapy. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction. Don't worry, our team at   Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians  are here to help you learn the truth. FACT: PRP therapy uses blood with almost 10 times more growth factors Your blood contains plasma, which is a liquid that carries cells and proteins through your body. Turns out, your blood is also made up of tiny solids. These solids are better known as platelets, red cells, and white cells. Platelets help your body form blood clots. They also consist of proteins called “growth factors” which play a vital role in healing injuries. Platelet-rich plasma
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What Are My Nonsurgical Regenerative Medicine Options for Spinal Stenosis?

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If you’ve been told that  spinal stenosis  is the reason why you have back or neck pain, you may feel helpless. Sure, you can keep your body fit by exercising, lifting weights to strengthen bones and muscles, and eating foods that nourish your cells. But how are you supposed to improve the health of your spine? Harvard-trained and triple board-certified physician,  Brian Fuller, MD , is an expert at diagnosing and treating spinal stenosis. At  Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians  in Denver, Colorado, Dr. Fuller and his friendly staff offer effective, minimally invasive treatments for anyone who suffers from pain.  The team is especially proud to offer nonsurgical regenerative medicine options such as  platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy  and  stem cell treatments  to treat the pain and dysfunction of spinal stenosis. Read on to find out more about the condition and how regenerative medicine can help. Why your spinal canal narrows You can develop spinal stenosis after a traumatic accide
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How Lower Back Pain Affects Your Hips

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Your body isn’t just a set of unrelated systems that operate independently. Your spine and bones, muscles and other soft-tissues, and your nerves all affect one another. When you have lower back pain, for instance, it changes the way you hold and distribute your body weight, which alters the way you hold and use your  hip joints , too.    Brian J. Fuller, MD,  a Harvard-trained, triple-board certified physician and founder of Mountain Spine & Pain Physicians in Denver, Colorado, believes in healing the underlying problems that cause your pain. Here he discusses how untreated, unhealed lower back pain can hurt your hips, too. The kind of referral you don’t want When your hips and upper legs are stiff and painful, the problem might not originate in your hip joint at all. If you have sacroiliitis — an inflammation in one or both of your sacroiliac joints (i.e., the joint that connects your lower back to your pelvis) — the pain can radiate downward toward your hip joint. Pain that’s fe
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