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Failed-Back Syndrome. Seen in 10% to 40% of patients who undergo back surgery, this syndrome is characterized by unrelenting pain and varying degrees of functional incapacitation, despite "successful" spine surgery. The pain can be treated with epidural adhesion lysis, hypertonic saline, epidural steroid injections, and spinal-cord stimulators, intrathecal pumps, in addition to muscle strengthening and rehabilitation programs.
Fibromyalgia - is a common diffuse-muscle and joint-pain disease, occurring mainly in women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. It is associated with widespread muscle pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance. Fibromyalgia can greatly impair a person’s life, preventing work, restricting daily activity, and interfering with relationships. It is treated through the coordinated efforts of primary care physicians, psychologists, and alternative healthcare providers. Specific treatments include: medication; trigger-point injections; sympathetic nerve blocks; deep heat, utilizing the pulsation method of heat transfer; acupuncture; chiropractic; and physical therapy. Treatment may be supplemented with spine rehabilitation, employing cervical and lumbar extension strengthening exercises.
Foot or Ankle Pain - can be caused by nerve damage or by an age-related change that affects the ankle or foot. Pain involving the joints of the four smaller toes, called metatarsalgia, is a common problem, usually caused by misalignment of those joints. Ankle problems commonly occur after overuse of the calf muscles, after wearing high-heel shoes, or after activity that repeatedly pounds the feet, such as running.
Possible treatment: Femoral Nerve Block.
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