CINN to host The Aging Spine Lecture Series for Professionals

Join us at one of four lectures this Spring for an in-depth discussion of the aging spine.  The program is appropriate for physicians, nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, athletic trainers and other professionals treating patients with back pain.

To see all details on times, dates, speakers, venues and for registration, please go to www.TheAgingSpine.org.

CINN to host Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Community Lecture on April 8th

Please join us in Munster, IN for a discussion on the symptoms of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis at 6:30 p.m. on April 8th.  Dr. Geoff Dixon, CINN neurosurgeon, will provide an informative lecture and be available to answer questions.  To register please call 773-250-1009.

Lecture will be held at:

Centennial Park Clubhouse, 1005 South Centennial Drive, Munster, IN

CINN Upcoming Events

“Back in Action”: fitness expert Andrea Metcalf shows exercises to reduce back pain

Fitness expert and NBC5 Fitness Team member Andrea Metcalf explains that the route to a pain-free back is working the core from the inside-out. More than 80% of all Americans experience back pain, which is the number one reason for missing work. Metcalf insists more people need education on ways to strengthen their core.

Because of this, she will share her tips and core strengthening exercises with back pain sufferers in a free clinic on Saturday, May 5, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. at Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch clinic located at 565 Lakeview Parkway in Vernon Hills. She will be joined by Dr. Dan Hurley, CINN physiatrist, who will explain the importance of core strengthening from a medical perspective.

“Many people have heard by now that core strengthening is important to relieve back pain“, she says. “However, many people think that means doing hundreds of crunches and ignoring the importance of strengthening the deep transverse muscles that stabilizes the lower back. Much of the results from good back strengthening work cannot be seen from outside the body.”

Some of Metcalf’s quick tips include:

• Sit with your hips higher than your knees
• Remember to breathe deeply into your belly
• Don’t cross your legs while sitting

Metcalf, who founded mbc Fitness in suburban Chicago, appears regularly on NBC5 as part of the morning show fitness team, is a midwest regional aerobics medalist and specializes in “boomer” fitness. Since most back pain sufferers are over 40, Metcalf will be demonstrating ways for boomers to get into good back shape and how to say there.

Metcalf will discuss the physiology of the core in relation to the spine and many of the potential causes of lower back pain, such as a lumbar spine curve, tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings and weak abdominals. Her exercises will include the hip flexor stretch, lumbar stretch, calf stretch, bridge lift, tummy tuck, among others. All are exercises that individuals can perform at home.

Breast cancer metastases / CINN brain screening event

In tonight’s Medical Watch — a diagnosis no one wants to hear … cancer and it’s spread. Now some advice on protecting the mind when breast cancer makes a run for the brain.

Kathy Southwick, breast cancer patient: “My then breast surgeon called to say it’s in your liver. We don’t do mastectomies if its in your liver do you understand?”

What Kathy Southwick didn’t understand is why her then-physician didn’t offer more treatment options for her stage 4 cancer. Read more

Back patients will laugh out loud (LOL) during laughter clinic in Vernon Hills

Vernon Hills, IL, March 19, 2007 – Managing back pain for Colleen Caron is a laugh a minute. The chronic back pain patient and laughter therapist says laughter is an analgesic and she is spreading the word to other sufferers. On Saturday, April 14, 10:30 - noon, Caron will share her love for laughter with other back pain patients during a therapy/yoga sesson at the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch clinic located at 565 Lakeview Parkway in Vernon Hills.

“Laughing is the best medicine for many medical conditions, including back pain,“ she says. “When the body releases hormones & chemicals, it increases endorphins and there are tremendous residual effects. Stress is reduced, blood pressure drops, depression is lifted, the immune system is boosted and often pain goes away.”

Caron, who has more than 20 years of experience as a psychiatric nurse is a certified Laughter Therapist from The World Laughter Tour. She starts the therapy/yoga session with simple breathing exercises and head and neck stretches and then a form of yoga with an accompanying laugh. Within 10 minutes, the fake laugh is replaced with an uncontrollable belly laugh.

“The use of laughter therapy is not new. In fact, a personal account published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1976, noted that ten minutes of belly laughing equaled up to two hours of pain relief,“ says Daniel Hurley, M.D., physiatrist for CINN who also sees patients in the Vernon Hills office. ”Laughter affects you physically and emotionally. It helps the respiratory system, the musculoskeletal system and eases muscle tension and stress.”

Caron’s classes can be as small as 10 people and as many as 300, but laughter participation is usually 98 to 100 percent. She also coaches caregivers on using laughter for chronic pain or cancer patients Caron recommends relaying a recent humorous incident or using a humor board to post cartoons, jokes and articles that tickle the funny bone. She also counsels hospitals, to create humor carts that contain funny books, jokes, videos and DVDs for patients.

The Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch medical group (CINN) is one of the nation’s leading organizations for the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of people with brain and spine disorders. Originally founded in 1987, CINN is one of the Midwest’s largest teams of neurosurgeons known for their pioneering treatments and minimally invasive techniques. Currently, the Chicago based neurosurgery practice has offices in Chicago, Highland Park, Elmhurst, Skokie and Harvey. For more information or to book a reservation for the laughter therapy session, call 773-250-1009 or log on to www.cinn.org for more information.