Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common sources of chronic neck and back pain. Despite the word "disease," it is not a single illness — it is the clinical term for pain that can arise as an intervertebral disc gradually loses hydration, height, and resilience with age and use. For most people it responds well to nonsurgical care; for a subset, surgery — including disc replacement in selected cases — becomes a reasonable discussion.
Foraminal stenosis is narrowing of the small bony tunnel—the intervertebral foramen—where a spinal nerve root exits the spine. When that opening tightens, the exiting nerve can be pinched, producing pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness that travels into an arm or leg. It can occur in the neck (cervical) or lower back (lumbar and lumbosacral), and it is one of the most common reasons a nerve root becomes compressed.
A laminectomy creates more room for compressed spinal nerves by removing part or all of the lamina at the back of a vertebra. It is most often used when spinal stenosis limits walking, causes radiating pain, or produces neurological symptoms.
Microdiscectomy is a focused spine procedure that removes the part of a herniated disc pressing on a nerve. It is usually considered when leg pain, numbness, or weakness continues despite appropriate nonsurgical care.
Bone spurs — also called osteophytes — are smooth, bony growths that can cause pain and stiffness when they press on tendons or nerves in the shoulder or neck.
Spinal fusion surgery permanently joins two or more vertebrae so they heal into a single, solid bone — one of the most effective operations for chronic back or neck pain that hasn't responded to conservative treatment.
Pain that starts in the neck and travels into the shoulder, arm, hand, or fingers is often more than a muscle strain — it may be cervical radiculopathy, commonly called a pinched nerve in the neck. When arm pain, numbness, or weakness persist despite conservative treatment, a spine evaluation can determine whether surgery should be considered.
Being told you have spondylolisthesis — where one vertebra has slipped forward over the one below it — can sound alarming. But not every slip needs surgery. When the slip causes nerve compression, progressive symptoms, or pain that hasn't improved with conservative care, a spine specialist can help determine whether decompression, fusion, or continued non-surgical care is the right path.
Being told you have spondylolisthesis — where one vertebra has slipped forward over the one below it — can sound alarming. But not every slip needs surgery. When the slip causes nerve compression, progressive symptoms, or pain that hasn't improved with conservative care, a spine specialist can help determine whether decompression, fusion, or continued non-surgical care is the right path.
Pain that starts in the neck and travels into the shoulder, arm, hand, or fingers is often more than a muscle strain — it may be cervical radiculopathy, commonly called a pinched nerve in the neck. When arm pain, numbness, or weakness persist despite conservative treatment, a spine evaluation can determine whether surgery should be considered.
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If raising your arm overhead makes you wince — or you've noticed a nagging ache deep in your shoulder that's worse at night — you may be dealing with shoulder impingement syndrome. The good news: most people get significant relief with the right exercises for shoulder impingement, combined with targeted non-surgical treatment. This guide walks you through what impingement is, how it's diagnosed, which exercises help most, and when it may be time to see an orthopedic specialist.
If raising your arm overhead makes you wince — or you've noticed a nagging ache deep in your shoulder that's worse at night — you may be dealing with shoulder impingement syndrome. The good news: most people get significant relief with the right exercises for shoulder impingement, combined with targeted non-surgical treatment. This guide walks you through what impingement is, how it's diagnosed, which exercises help most, and when it may be time to see an orthopedic specialist.
If raising your arm overhead makes you wince — or you've noticed a nagging ache deep in your shoulder that's worse at night — you may be dealing with shoulder impingement syndrome. The good news: most people get significant relief with the right exercises for shoulder impingement, combined with targeted non-surgical treatment. This guide walks you through what impingement is, how it's diagnosed, which exercises help most, and when it may be time to see an orthopedic specialist.
If your hands feel clumsy when buttoning a shirt, or you've noticed a subtle change in the way you walk — as if your balance isn't quite right — you may be experiencing early signs of cervical myelopathy, a progressive spinal cord condition that affects the neck. Cervical myelopathy occurs when the spinal cord in the cervical (neck) region is compressed, disrupting the nerve signals that control movement, sensation, and coordination throughout the body. Without treatment, it tends to worsen over time. The good news: today's surgical options, including minimally invasive techniques, can stop progression and restore quality of life.
You've probably described it the same way to everyone who's asked: "I can walk about a block, then my legs get heavy and start to ache. I sit down for a minute and it passes. Then I can walk again."
You used to walk off a sore knee. Now you wake up with it. Going down stairs has become something you think about before you do it. And the weekend hike or pickup basketball game you used to enjoy? It's been months.
You don't lift heavy equipment. You don't run into burning buildings. But by 3 PM, your lower back is screaming. If you're a teacher standing on concrete floors for six hours, a city clerk hunched over a desk processing paperwork, or a transit worker sitting in the same position all shift—your back pain is just as real, just as debilitating, and just as deserving of expert care.
A rotator cuff tear doesn't just sideline you from the gym. If you're a police officer in Queens, a firefighter on Long Island, or an EMT working 12-hour shifts, it sidelines you from your career. You can't draw a weapon, force open a door, or lift a stretcher with a shoulder that won't cooperate.
If you have a herniated disc in your neck, you know the feeling: the constant ache in your neck, the electric shocks down your arm, the numbness in your fingers that makes buttoning a shirt impossible.
When physical therapy and injections stop working, surgery becomes the conversation. For decades, the "gold standard" was to fuse the bones together (ACDF). But today, active patients in New York have a better option: Artificial Disc Replacement (ADR).
At Comprehensive Orthopedic & Spine Care, Dr. Carlos Castro and Dr. Joseph Weinstein are at the forefront of motion-preserving spine surgery. We don't just want to stop the pain; we want you to keep moving your neck.
