Featured

 Can Stem Cells Treat Arachnoiditis?

Sara Bomar thought she’d be spending the rest of her life in a wheelchair or bedridden. But the 54-year old Tennessee woman is not only walking again, she’s been able to resume her career as a doctor after an experimental stem cell treatment for her chronic back pain.

 Epidural Steroid Injection Risks Include Incurable Arachnoiditis

What Bertelli has is a pain disorder caused by the inflammation of the arachnoid, a delicate spider web-like membrane that surrounds and protects the spinal nerves, spinal cord and brain. The three most common causes are surgery, infection and chemical irritation.

 Not All Scars Are Visible

Not all scars are visible. Not all wounds heal. There are many faces to those of us who suffer from what is called Arachnoiditis. There are the faces of those with arachnoiditis cysts, and the faces of those with what is referred to as Adhesive Arachnoiditis- empty sac sign. There is no cure.

 One Arachnoiditis Survivor of Many

Frequently an adverse outcome of medical procedures, arachnoiditis is commonly concealed from the general population as well as front line medical providers.

 Suspecting and Diagnosing Arachnoiditis

Whereas the main clinical features represent a physical injury producing functional damage or alteration, the ensuing devastating disease is always associated with unrelenting chronic pain and major psychological and social impacts.

 Understanding Arachnoiditis: Please Hear Me

People sometimes just don’t get that yes I make sacrifices daily to live and do things but will pay for it greatly.

 What Next for Arachnoiditis Patients?

Tennant, who treats about 60 arachnoiditis patients from around the country at his pain clinic in West Covina, California, has developed a complex and unique therapy for arachnoiditis that combines pain medication, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamins and hormones. Once bedridden or using walkers, several of his patients were healthy enough to make the long trip to Montana to hear him speak.

Articles of Interest

Adhesive Arachnoiditis: The 74th Anniversary of a Global Healthcare Disaster

It has now been about 75 years since the myelographic agent Pantopaque® (called Myodil® in Europe) was first used on large numbers of unsuspecting US Army personnel suffering from low back pain at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Bethesda Maryland where many of them were subsequently disabled by the disease entity ‘Adhesive Arachnoiditis.’

Arachnoiditis Foundation

Expert services for sufferers of arachnoiditis or chronic pain.

Arachnoiditis Hope

The purpose of this web site is to provide guidance and hope to arachnoiditis patients and their loved ones.

Arachnoiditis Information and Support

Adhesive Arachnoiditis is an incurable inflammatory condition affecting the middle (arachnoid) layer of the meninges (which are the membranes surrounding the spinal cord). This condition is thought to be rare, although the real scale of the problem remains yet unknown.

Arachnoiditis Support Community Board

Welcome to the Arachnoiditis Support Community Board. We offer help, support, information and friendship for those that suffer with arachnoiditis and chronic pain. This Board is open to all that need help, want help, and to those that can offer help and support.

Arachnoiditis USA

Arachnoiditis USA, Inc was created to promote Arachnoiditis awareness, Arachnoiditis research, discover new therapies in an effort to achieve remissions and to support Arachnoiditis related organizations throughout the United States. This mission is extended to spread Arachnoiditis awareness and understanding throughout the world.

Arachnoiditis: The Silent Epidemic

This 25-chapter, 339-page book offers rare insight into each stage of arachnoiditis, includes 133 photographs and illustrations, and contains an enormous wealth of information which would benefit all patients who suffer from arachnoiditis plus a multitude of specialists from orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and neurosurgeons, to physiatrists, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, medical libraries, pain clinics, HMO's, etc.

ArachnoiditisCanada.com

Having had arachnoiditis for 40 years( I have stopped counting), I have come to realise that in my early years of dealing with it, and after losing my nursing career, basically re-inventing myself in the process in all aspects of one’s life, I have come to understand that I am a warrior.

Art For Arachnoiditis

I am an Arachnoiditis Survivor since 2007. I use the arts as a tool for living with arachnoiditis in my life. I created the Art For Arachnoiditis Project in 2014 to Empower fellow Survivors.

Before a Wave of Meningitis, Shots Were Tied to Risks

The outbreak of fungal meningitis that has killed 14 people and sickened 156 more has focused attention on the risk of infection from spinal injections. But the same injections have also long been linked to other rare but devastating complications, including nerve damage, paralysis and strokes.

Life with Arachnoiditis

Life with Arachnoiditis is a not-for-profit group open to EVERYONE. Our mission is to provide a hope-filled environment highlighting information, education and research. We also offer one-on-one communication with others affected by Arachnoiditis, Epidural Fibrosis, Failed Back Surgery Syndrome and other related spinal disorders.

The Burton Report

Adhesive arachnoiditis home page

The risks of epidural and transforaminal steroid injections in the Spine: Commentary and a comprehensive review of the literature

Although the benefits for epidural steroid injections may include transient pain relief for those with/without surgical disease, the multitude of risks attributed to these injections outweighs the benefits.

Resources

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Arachnoiditis remains a difficult condition to treat, and long-term outcomes are unpredictable. Most treatments for arachnoiditis are focused on pain relief and the improvement of symptoms that impair daily function.