Wylie Lopez MD

04/24/2023

JFK Spotlight: Spine Surgery!

On one of the latest episodes of JFK Spotlight, which airs on WCTC radio, Dr. Wiley Lopez discusses different types of spine surgery, back pain, and when you…

03/01/2023

Ouch Clinic in wall NJ will get you the care you need, fast! Get your follow up with one of our specialists from the same place—no need to worry about referrals.

12/27/2022

Accepting new patients!

12/01/2022

Now is the time to take control of your spine health. Incorporate these 3 exercises below into your workout routine--little changes every day can create long lasting benefits and a pain free future. Remember, there is no such thing as a total spine replacement 😝
Bridges: beginners 2 sets of 10, experts 5 sets of 20, everyone else should be somewhere in between
Prone leg extensions: beginners 1 set of 10 reps (each leg), experts 3 sets of 20 (each leg)
Quadrupeds: beginners 1 set of 10, experts 3 sets of 20

11/23/2022

We've all been there before... lifting something sort of heavy or quickly getting up from a bent over position and suddenly, BOOM, a zinging pain in your lower back literally takes your breath away. A huge majority of the time these are lumbar strains. Lumbar strains are caused by damage to the long paraspinal muscles that sit on either side of your spine and are incredibly painful and sometimes take weeks to improve. It's counterintuitive, but the goal in these situations is to MOBILIZE instead of resting. Easier said than done, obviously. This is where anti-inflammatory medications come in handy. Ibuprofen works well and you should take it around the clock after an acute injury, this will help you mobilize with less pain. You can supplement this with tylenol (tylenol is metabolized by your liver whereas ibuprofen is metabolized by your kidneys, so you can take them at the same time), which is a pain reliever but does not reduce inflammation. I also personally love the Salonpas heat patches that have Capsaicin as the active ingredient. For situations that are taking longer than a week or so to improve, physical therapy and/or acupuncture can be quite helpful. You almost never need a spine surgeon in these situations, unless you're also having shooting leg pain (sciatica) that isn't improving with time.

11/18/2022

Chronic neck or back pain? Recovering from an injury? These at-home workouts can change your life! The Watkins spine team out of LA have created an easy to use app with great information and exercises. HIGHLY recommend “Back Doctor” app.

11/15/2022

What is that shooting pain going into your arm or butt/leg? Doctors call this "radiculopathy", also known commonly as "sciatica". This is a symptom caused by compression or pinching of your spinal cord or spinal nerves. It is sometimes accompanied by numbness, tingling, or in more severe cases, weakness. As you can see in the image, there are many causes of radiculopathy, including the more common issues such as disc herniations and bony spurs caused by arthritis, but in rare cases it can also be caused by fractures and tumors. The good news is that even when the pain is severe, we can normally treat patients with radiculopathy conservatively with physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications. In severe cases, providing steroids (powerful anti-inflammatory medication) either orally (medrol dose pack) or by an injection (epidural steroid injection) can often make the pain subside quickly. If pain persists, your doctor will typically order an MRI to help make a specific diagnosis. SURGERY IS THE LAST LINE OF DEFENSE and is for patients who have failed conservative measures or present with emergency symptoms such as severe weakness or loss of bladder/bowel control.
*** WHEN TO SEE A SPINE SPECIALIST FOR YOUR RADICULOPATHY: changes in hand writing, dropping objects with increasing frequency, progressively worsening balance or unprovoked falls, changes to bowel or bladder function, weakness, progressively worsening symptoms or pain that is not improving with time and/or physical therapy.

11/09/2022

One of the most common presentations I see in the office for neck or back pain is a deep muscular type pain that is very tender when pressed. If there was no acute injury that the patient can remember (in those cases likely a sprain or strain), it is often due to an issue known as "myofascial pain". When people say they have "a knot in their muscle", they are typically referring to this issue. Myofascial pain is due to inflammation and spasm in an area of muscle or the overlying tough tissue known as the fascia, and usually occurs due to repeated contractions of that muscle from particular sports, jobs, hobbies, or even just muscle tension from stress. For me personally, this often occurs in the areas denoted with " X " in the image below. The good news is that these issues almost never require surgery and can be alleviated with some physical therapy, over the counter anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen/Motrin, and massage therapy. For issues that are harder to deal with, other modalities such as trigger point injections or acupuncture can be a life saver. Whenever I get this type of pain, I like to gently lay down on a lacrosse or tennis ball and work the knot out (massage therapy), followed by some ibuprofen and gentle stretching. If you have access to a steam room or sauna, even better.

11/08/2022

Did you know that each level of the spine has joints? These are called "facet joints" and much like the shoulders, hips, and knees, these joints can become arthritic and painful. We call this "facetogenic pain". When properly diagnosed, the pain can usually be relieved with a medial branch block (a specific type of injection) and some physical therapy. In some people, this can become a source of long lasting pain. These people can be good candidates for an outpatient procedure called a "radiofrequency ablation" where the nerve to the facet joint is burned, thereby stopping the transmission of the pain signal.

In the attached photo here, the facet joints are denoted by the red arrows. At the very bottom of the photo is an arthritic/worn out facet joint.

11/01/2022

Welcome to my professional page. The purpose here is to educate you about common spine-related health problems and their respective treatment options. I want to help you understand what could be happening with your spine and when to seek help. Please feel free to ask questions or post comments and I will do my best to answer them.

11/01/2022

Posterior cervical fusion for someone with debilitating pain from a subacute dens fracture. Pain score changed from 8/10 pre-op to 3/10 at first post-op visit (14 days). Recently seen with 0/10 pain.
***Please note, these xrays are displayed with the expressed approval of the involved patient.