Might I propose as the Forum Grows

[nopain]

Creating and seperate area for Cervical Devices and Discussion and Lumbar Devices and Discussion. Don't want to leave out the Thoracic spine, but I've no t read of benefits of ADR's in this area.

I frequent many Forums and members post a question about Cervical and are replied to by Lumbar people and vice versa. While there are similarities each part of the spine really requires a different approach and specific resouces.

One who suffers lower back pain is different from one who suffers neck pain. Sounds crazy? Yes it's still part of the spine I know but many different issues, approaches and questions arise specific to each area.

[Poncho]

Hey nopain,

I would have to second your thought here. I agree because (even though I am a lumbie) - the cervies have different symptoms and therapies et al to go through. I believe that the spine has different kinematics in this area of the body and has to be addressed differently.

I belive Mark is working feverishly with this site and his business - but I think when he gets a chance to make adjustments - he would take this into consideration.

Take care and I hope that you find relief soon in your spiney journey.

Poncho

[fortitudine]

Good idea, nopain; At first, when I found the spiny forums I was scared and worried, and I was frustrated when lumbies gave me useless answers to my cervie questions( but I knew they were well-meaning).

At the same time, there are a lot of crossovers...so I'm not sure if we would miss out on issues by separating the two groups. For example, pain management, issues around the design of artificial discs and other technologies, vertebroplasty, etc.

It is possible that many spinies, newbies in particular, don't realize that the neck and lower back present all sorts of different challenges.I know I have come a thousand miles in my understanding of the whole spine by reading all posts.

Perhaps we just need a note on the home page asking if people would just please read and note whether the discussion is cervical or lumbar, and tailor their response appropriately.

After all, Mark and Poncho are lumbies and I wouldn't want to miss their posts -or most others, for that matter!

[mmglobal]

Thanks for the suggestions! I really like the idea of a cervical forum. There are cervical issues that get lost in the lumbar rush. Many of us have both cervical and lumbar issues. Also, many of the issues that are relevant for the lumbar spine are relevant for cervical too. Many of the device issues overlap as well.

At NASS, the most interesting paper presented was one on tandem pathology, both cervical and lumbar, and the interplay between the two. I have been speaking about this to Dr. Zeegers for months, since a few unique cases that I'll be writing more on later. We just spoke today, and he's even more convinced about the interplay and the ability for c-spine problems to mimic lumbar issues in the presence of tandem pathology. Again, I'll write more later.

For now, I'll keep the forums as they are... just spine and not spine. That will keep the moderation issues down and will also keep everyone from having to worry about where they post. If things get too big for one forum and we need to separate, we'll cross that bridge when when we get there, with more knowledge about the issues and how to deal with them more effectively.

Mark