stlpaindoc

03/08/2022

Happy Tuesday! Let’s help some patients and crush this week!! 😎💯👨🏽‍⚕️🙌🏽

01/31/2022

New logo, same exceptional care!

01/06/2022

Stay safe everyone 😬🤦🏽‍♂️😂

03/09/2021

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta 🙌🏽⁣
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But in all seriousness, this is exactly 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫! Yes, medical school and residency is hard work! It takes many 𝟏𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 (college, medical school, residency, fellowship) to get to where I am today, but show me a better job where I get to have an 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 on people’s lives like this! ⁣
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From not wanting to go anywhere to traveling to Hawaii 🛫🌴☀️🏃🏼‍♀️💪🏽💯⁣
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10/27/2020

HELPING ANOTHER PATIENT AVOID MAJOR KNEE SURGERY AND NOW WALKING PAIN FREE! 🚶🏻‍♀️💯🙌🏽🙏🏽👊🏽⁣
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There are more options to treat pain related to osteoarthritis of the knees then just cortisone injections and knee surgery! 🤔 ⁣
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If you are not a great candidate for knee surgery whether it is due to comorbid conditions that may make you high risk for anesthesia or you simply want to avoid it, we can offer 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 ablation.👨🏽‍⚕️🩺⁣
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This is an easy procedure we can perform in our office under x-ray guidance which allows us to anatomically locate the nerves that innervate and send the pain signals from the knee. At that point, we can burn or ablate that nerve which 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝟗𝟎 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬. Once the nerve is injured, it does not transmit or send pain signals as much which significantly decreases knee pain!💪🏽⁣
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If you have knee pain or osteoarthritis, come by our office or give us a call to see if you are a good candidate for this procedure!💻📱📞⁣
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10/21/2020

No, just because you have back pain does not mean you need an epidural! 🤦🏽‍♂️💉

There are so many different parts of the spine that can be generators of pain! The origin of back pain could be from muscles (myofascial pain), facet joints (the joints that help you extend, rotate and flex your back), discogenic, vertebral compression fractures, or even pinched nerve pain.

An epidural targets pinched nerve pain specifically. Imagine how many other pain generators are missed if we only offered epidural steroid injections!

We can figure the origin of your back pain by taking a detailed history, looking at/obtaining imaging, but most important of all, DOING A PHYSICAL EXAM! So many physicians these days only rely on imaging to diagnose the patient, when in reality, sometimes there is not a great correlation with the patient's pain complaints and imaging findings!

Make sure you see a board-certified, fellowship trained pain physician for diagnosis and treatment of your back pain! We are your minimally invasive spine PHYSICIANS! It's what we do! 👨🏽‍⚕️🩺🙌🏽

10/20/2020

Testimonial Tuesday! 🙌🏽⁣
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I might not be able to help everyone, but I will absolutely 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 to get your life back without relying on narcotics! 🙏🏽⁣
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If you have any chronic pain issues affecting your life, come see me at my office for a thorough evaluation and treatment options.👨🏽‍⚕️🩺 ⁣
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04/14/2020

Telemedicine keeping both physicians and patients safe in this unprecedented time during the COVID-19 crisis!⁣ 🩺👨🏽‍⚕️💻📱
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Shout out to for their new video call option in the 𝐃𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫 app! It was easy, seamless, and video/audio quality was on point! Other apps I've used were not as user friendly and it was tough to communicate to patients how to use them. ⁣
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03/30/2020

Dem CDC guidelines tho 🤯🤦🏽‍♂️😩⁣
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Per the CDC, “In settings where facemasks are not available, HCP (healthcare personnel) might use homemade masks (e.g., bandana, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort." ⁣
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Everybody is low on PPE. It is nerve wracking that us physicians may be placed in potentially dangerous situations without proper personal protective equipment. The last thing we want to do is bring this home to our family or loved ones. But, we gotta do what we gotta do. This is what we signed up for. ⁣
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We stay at work for you. Please stay at home for us! 🩺👨🏽‍⚕️⁣
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If it is urgent, then of course we will see you in person! If you are not feeling well or experiencing any flu-like symptoms/SOB, it's best to stay home. If it is a routine visit, please ask us about your telemedicine options that can be done through various platforms such as doxy.me, FaceTime, Skype, etc.📱💻🖥⁣
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03/15/2020

Not all heroes wear capes! 💪🏽 🦸‍♂️
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Strong work to ICU physician 𝐃𝐫. 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 for putting together a concise summary of 𝘊𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘋-𝟷𝟿 and educating other physicians regarding the current disease process. 👏🏽Thank you 𝐃𝐫. 𝐊𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧 for sharing this on your Facebook allowing me to pass this along! ⁣⁣🩺👨🏽‍⚕️
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If you can, please try to stay home to prevent the spread from overwhelming our hospitals and resources. It should go without saying by now, but wash your hands often and practice social distancing for the 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. You may not get too sick but be cognizant of other 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 individuals or people who are high risk in which this may be fatal for them. If you have any symptoms, stay home.⁣⁣😷
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@ Des Peres, Missouri

03/13/2020

Ever had 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯?🍑😩⁣
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It is literally a 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬! Also known as coccydynia, tailbone pain can be really debilitating! Who doesn't sit down during the day?! I remember one instance I suffered coccydynia for about 1 week and was miserable! I had to bring a special pillow with a cutout to alleviate pressure at the tailbone. Driving was a disaster as well. You really don't think about it until it happens to you!⁣
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The usual course of conservative treatment includes anti-inflammatories and using a donut cushion. If there is minimal benefit with this, we can pursue an injection called a 𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. The ganglion of impar is a group of sympathetic ganglia or nerves which are located anterior or in front of the tailbone at sacrococcygeal junction. It sends pain signals from the perineum and tailbone area. Luckily, we have a procedure we can offer patients who experience coccydynia. This is done simply under x-ray guidance in the lateral view. If you see the image above, you can see that the needle is easily passed through the sacrococcygeal joint just anterior to the tailbone. At that point, we use contrast dye to ensure we are in the correct area. Once this is confirmed, we can inject a solution of local anesthetic or numbing medication along with anti-inflammatory steroid to hopefully block the pain for a period of time. Other interventions include coccygectomy which includes removal of the tailbone. This is not frequently done due to risk of infection.💉🩺⁣
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@ Pain Management Services

02/24/2020

Got neck pain??⁣
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Today's interesting case involves a 56-year-old female with history of C3-5 anterior fusion complaining of axial neck pain for bilateral cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation. In layman's terms, we are "burning" or ablating the nerves that send the pain signals from the arthritic joints the neck to your brain when the patient experiences neck pain. We do this by using a specialized needle that is insulated except for the last few millimeters of the tip. Electricity is sent down the needle creating heat, kind of like a bowl in your microwave does not get hot but the food does. In this case, the tissue immediately surrounding the needle gets hot but the needle does not.⁣
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When the patient has a fusion, that level where the spine is fused does not move. That causes the areas above and below that fusion to move more which can cause more wear-and-tear arthritis giving way to neck pain. Such is the case in this patient. Luckily, she has had a history of cervical medial branch radiofrequency ablation with >50% reduction in pain which typically lasts her approximately 6 months at a time. ⁣
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In order to do this, we use x-ray guidance to place the needles at the anatomical locations where these medial branches reside. We use another view to assure adequate depth. Motor testing is done to make sure we are not near nerves that control motor functioning of the arms. Once positioning is confirmed, I will place a small amount of steroid/numbing medication and let that sit for about a minute and a half. After this burning or ablation is completed at 90 seconds and the procedure is complete!⁣
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Pretty awesome nonsurgical and minimally invasive technology that can be life-changing in debilitating and exhausting neck pain!⁣
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@ Pain Management Services

02/22/2020

Had a strong week helping a lot of people. Hope everyone has a fantastic and awesome weekend! ⁣
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02/20/2020

Starting my day off with some Opti-Greens 50! 🥦🥬🍓🍇😁⁣
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Opti-Greens 50 specifically includes low-temperature processed 100% organic grasses, non-GMO, nonsynthetic botanical super foods, phytonutrients, digestive enzymes and probiotics to make 1 of the best formulated greens supplement available. Contained in this supplement is also antioxidants which are beneficial in removing inflammatory and damaging free radicals from your body. Another plus is that Opti-Greens 50 contains a glycemic balance blood to help regulate glycemic response so that carbohydrates are effectively used for energy rather than stored as fat. This in turn helps with energy levels throughout the day instead of feeling that terrible crash and burn after meals!⁣
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In today's world, we need all the help we can get given our modern lifestyles and poor food choices with our day-to-day lives. Combining this with appropriate sleep, nutrition, and an exercise plan, I have noticed improved workouts and sustained energy getting me closer to my weight loss and fitness goals. 🏋🏽🏃🏽💪🏽💯⁣
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Do not pass on this grass! 😂⁣
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@ Des Peres, Missouri

02/19/2020