Senior Health News

Just six months ago, Carmen Bucci of Tinley Park was hurting. The pain from his lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) was unbearable, limiting his ability to function and enjoy life.

“I couldn’t do anything,” he said. “I was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight without it killing me. I just hated the thought of moving, because then the pain would come back.” The south suburban senior consulted doctors, chiropractors and therapists in search of an effective treatment for his condition.

LSS is a narrowing of the spinal canal that occurs in the lower part of the spine. This condition reduces the space allowed for nerves to exit from the spinal canal. When a nerve in the lower back becomes pinched, it can cause pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness that radiates from the lower back into the buttocks and legs. Aging and everyday wear and tear on the lower spine can cause a number of changes that narrow the spinal canal area, resulting in a pinched nerve. Injury, degeneration of discs in the vertebrae, and changes in bone structure or soft tissue along the spine can also cause this narrowing.

LSS affects everyone differently. Varying degrees of pain can affect your ability to shop, cook, drive, or even get dressed. It can interrupt your sleep, leaving you in a fog the next day. Sometimes the pain can make it difficult to work, or even prevent from getting to work. Home life, relationships, career, and leisure all are impacted by the limitations of LSS.

“My wife would try to get me to go out with her, shopping or to the movies, but as soon as moved, the pain would come back,” Bucci said. “I didn’t want to do anything.” Late last summer, the pain became so intense that he required a walker just to get around.

Until recently, Carmen’s only option would have been spinal fusion surgery, which permanently connects two or more vertebrae using pieces of bone and optional hardware such as screws, rods and cages. However, as with any surgery, complications due to infection, bleeding, and problems related to the anesthetic may occur. Other risks include urinary difficulties and reduced, or lack of, intestinal function.

In desperation, Carmen began researching available treatments for his condition and learned about another option: the X-STOP Spacer. Intrigued, he called Northwest Memorial Hospital and was referred to Dr. Wellington Hsu for consultation and more information

Carmen learned that the X-STOP Spacer is an ingenious and simple implant that works by opening up the space around the pinched nerve. By “unpinching” the nerve, the X-STOP Spacer can relieve painful symptoms of LSS.

Until the X-STOP Spacer became available, people like Carmen, who were no longer satisfied with their pain relief from non-surgical treatments such as oral medications and epidural steroid injections, had to have major surgery. The X-STOP Spacer can provide sustained relief of painful LSS symptoms with a minimally invasive procedure.

The X-STOP Spacer is indicated for patients aged 50 or older suffering from lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). A diagnosis of LSS should be confirmed by a doctor with X-ray, MRI, or CT scans. The X-STOP Spacer is indicated for patients with moderately impaired ability to function, who experience relief from their pain symptoms when bending forward. Patients receiving the X-STOP Spacer should have been on a regime of nonsurgical treatment for their symptoms for at least 6 months. The X-STOP Spacer may be implanted at one or two lumbar levels in patients in whom operative treatment is indicated at no more than two levels.

“I believe that the X-STOP gives some select patients with lumbar spinal stenosis a treatment option that was not otherwise available until this past decade,” said Dr. Hsu. “ It affords a less invasive, less risky, efficacious approach for the treatment of leg and back pain. Although not all patients who suffer from this condition are candidates, the X-stop gives spine surgeons additional options to treat debilitating symptoms.”

Carmen was an ideal candidate for the procedure. One day last September, he entered the hospital at 6 a.m. and was released that very afternoon.

“It’s just amazing,” Carmen said. “I could get up and walk that same day and the pain was completely gone.” By comparison, if Carmen had opted for one of the other treatments such as spinal fusion or laminectomy, he would have been hospitalized for at least five days. His activity would have been severely restricted during a six-month recovery period, and there was no guarantee the surgery would be able to correct his condition.

“I can’t stress enough how good I feel,” Carmen said enthusiastically. “I hate to see anyone suffer. I would absolutely recommend Dr. Hsu and the X-STOP Spacer to anyone with LSS.”

Dr. Hsu is an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Department of Neurological Surgery. He also serves as the director of the Laboratory for Regenerative Technologies of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. His research interests focus on regenerative technologies as bone graft substitutes for spine fusion. Dr. Hsu was recently chosen as one of the American Orthopaedic Association North American Traveling Fellows for 2009, a prestigious honor bestowed upon a select group of orthopaedic surgeons. Visit his website at www.nwspine.org.

For more information on the X-STOP Spacer, visit the website at www.xstopspacer.com or call 866-580-5228..

The Barrington Area Council on Aging will offer both day and evening sessions this spring for its six-week “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” class. The daytime class will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m., March 10 through April 14.

The evening program is offered through CUSD 220’s Beyond 220 program and will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m., from April 6 through May 11. Classes will be held at Barrington High School.

The course is designed for the nonprofessional caregiver who is helping to care for a parent, spouse, or friend who lives at home, in a nursing home, or across the country. This program helps family caregivers reduce stress, improve self-confidence, better communicate their feelings, balance their life, and enhance their ability to make tough decisions and to locate helpful resources.

The course consists of six weekly sessions and is conducted on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Suggested donation is $30 per person to cover the cost of materials and instruction, but no one is turned away due to inability to pay.

Beyond 220 also offers a one-session course titled Caregiving 101, led by BACOA Executive Director Joyce Palmquist. Sessions will be offered from 7 to 8:30 p.m. March 9 and March 30 at Barrington High School.

For more information on both programs, call BACOA at 847-381-5030. To register for the Beyond 220 program, call Debbie Villers at 847-842-3510 or visit the CUSD 220 Web site at www.barrington220.org.

In Partnership with AgeOptions and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, BACOA will offer Take Charge of Your Health, a health education class for adults 60 and over.

The six-week class will be held Fridays, April 2 through May 7 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Friday, April 16 from 10:30 to 12:30 a.m. All classes will be held in the Community Room at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, 450 W. Highway 22.

The program is based on Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, which has proved effective in improving the health outcomes of participants.

Topics covered in the six-part course will include:

• Coping with fatigue, frustration, pain and isolation that may be related to ongoing health conditions

• Exercising to maintain and improve strength, flexibility and endurance

• Using medications

• Communicating with family, friends and health professionals

• Practicing good nutrition

• Evaluating new treatment options

The program is free. For more information or to register, call Sue or Diane at 847-381-5030.

Alzheimer’s Association Support Group. Licensed clinical social worker Amy Bash will discuss techniques for coping with stress. The group will meet from 1:30 to 3 p.m. March 11.

Parkinson’s Education and Support. Jeff Wolf, a professional trainer and fitness instructor, will demonstrate chi gong, a Chinese exercise program that might be beneficial to those with Parkinson’s disease. The meeting will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 27 in the Performing Arts Center at The Garlands of Barrington, 1000 Garlands Ln.

Low Vision Education and Support. Polly Abbott, from Guild for the Blind, will conduct a “Dining with Confidence” workshop, to help low-vision participants more easily navigate a restaurant meal in unfamiliar surroundings. Lunch will follow. The group will meet at 11 p.m. March at Lake Barrington Woods.

For more information on any of the groups, please call BACOA at 847-381-5030 or visit BACOA’s Web site at www.bacoa.org.