Apex Spine & Neurosurgery Blog

Back pain is a common medical problem, one that will affect 8 out of 10 people at some point during their lives. Pain can occur in the cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper and mid-back), or lumbar spine (lower back), and it can present as a throbbing...

Hearing that you have a brain tumor can be devastating news, but remember that not all tumors are cancerous, and many can be effectively treated. The most important thing you can do is to learn the early warning signs so you can seek immediate medical attention. The...

The moveable parts of the spine contains bony vertebrae with cushiony intervertebral discs between them. The discs are tough and fibrous, absorbing and distributing the pressure placed on the spinal column as you bend forward, backward, and side to side. Over time,...

Dr Mairaj Sami MD, a neurosurgeon at Apex Spine and Neurosurgery is a contributing author to the latest guidelines for the surgical treatment of glioblastoma, the most common primary brain tumor affecting adults.  Dr. Sami is bringing evidence-based neurosurgery to...

Your nervous system is an important part of your body, transferring information from the brain to the body’s organs, muscles, and tissues, and carrying sensory information back to the brain for processing. If anything applies too much pressure on a nerve anywhere in...

Your vertebral discs are the shock absorbers of your spine. If one of them herniates — also known as a slipped or ruptured disc — you may not notice anything at all, or you could be in a great deal of pain if the disc impinges on a nearby nerve.At Apex Spine and...

Your spine naturally curves vertically to help distribute body weight and to reduce the stress and pressure on any single region of your back. This natural curve resembles an S shape. Scoliosis is a condition that causes the spine to curve to the left, the right, or...

Tarlov cysts, also known as perineural cysts or sacral nerve root cysts, are tiny sacs filled with cerebrospinal fluid that develop on nerve roots in your spine. While they can be found anywhere along your spine, they're most often found in the sacrum, the...

If you think you’re the only one with a sore neck, think again. In the United States, 20-50% of the population experiences neck pain at some point every year. That’s because, like it or not, our lifestyle makes us prone to developing (but hopefully not becoming) a...

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017, which looked at people in 195 countries around the world, back pain is the leading cause of disability, with women more likely to suffer with it than men. And both the National Institute of Neurological Disorders...