Hospital Clinics: Specialisations - neurology, back pain, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy

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Schön Klinik Vogtareuth

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Neurology. Our specialisations

Back pain

Every third to fourth person in Germany has back pain. Almost 70% of the population has back pain at least once a year and almost 90% suffer from back pain at least once in their life. The lower back (lumbar spine) is most often affected. Following respiratory infections, back pain is the second most common reason to consult a doctor and the most common reason to be put off work. Symptoms in the spine also play a direct or indirect role in most cases of early retirement. The economic significance of the different diseases of the spine is enormous. Those affected can also undergo severe suffering, be majorly restricted in the activities they can do and have problems participating in their everyday life.

What are the different types of back pain?

A differentiation is made between acute back pain that occurs once only and usually disappears of its own accord, recurring back pain that always returns at intervals, and chronic pain that is present on more than half the days of a year. Low back pain (lumbago) is sudden, stabbing back pain that forces the person into another posture and results in severe restrictions in mobility and extremely tense muscles and may cause pain to radiate into the buttocks or legs. It mostly originates in the small vertebral joints and - in contrast to general consensus - almost never arises from a slipped disc.

Diagnostics & Pain Therapy

The precise cause of back pain is unclear in around 90% of all cases. The frequent "wear phenomena" in technical examination images (X-rays, CTs, MRT) in most cases does not clearly indicate the cause of pain, as they occur in virtually all people from a certain age. In other words: some people do not have pain despite showing signs of extreme degeneration in the spine and discs, while others have extreme pain but only minimal or even no degenerative changes. Pain is mainly caused by tension in the muscles that arises from bad posture and the long-term overloading of the musculoskeletal system. In addition, psychosocial stress (stress in the family or at work, worries, fears, depression) often plays a significant role in back pain.

Our interdisciplinary team offers you a special type of therapy that is based on several elements - the so-called multi-modal pain therapy.

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Motor disorders

Movement disorders originate in the central nervous system.

One of our department's specialisations is so-called movement disorders. People with movement disorders have problems moving voluntarily, controlling targeted movements or inhibiting involuntary movements. An example of this is Parkinson´s disease. People suffering from this disease are not able to move as well and participate in everyday activities; they become more inactive. There are many other neurological diseases that also lead to restrictions to mobility in everyday life. Movement disorders are mostly long-lasting and require intensive therapy. We therefore offer long-lasting individual therapy in addition to diagnostics for these movement disorders.

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Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disease of unknown origin. Certain nerve cells in the brain, in particular the cells that produce the messenger dopamine, die off and cause the slow development of four main symptoms of varying severity:

Bradykinesia (slowing of movement)
Rigidity (stiffness, increase in muscle tension, incorrect activation of muscles)
Tremor (shaking: involuntary, rhythmical, repeated movements)
Postural instability (lack of stability when upright)

It is estimated that approx. 250,000 to 400,000 people currently suffer from so-called idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPS) in Germany. This disease occurs more frequently when we are older. As the average age of the population is continually increasing, this means that the number of patients will also continue to increase.

The therapy principles are based on physical therapy to maintain motor functional abilities, individual drug therapy to improve mobility and balance out the dopamine deficiency, the targeted reduction of the risks linked to the disease (e.g., risk of falls, swallowing disorders), and the individual treatment in advanced stages of the disease using technical or pump-assisted forms of therapy such as apomorphine pumps, duodopa pumps and deep brain stimulation

Seizures (epilepsy)

Approximately 1% of all people suffer from epilepsy (cramps or seizures), making this disease about as common as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis. It is estimated that 5 % of all people will have an epileptic fit once in their life. The disease can either be present at birth or be acquired later on in life, e.g., as a result of brain injury following head trauma or a stroke. Most of the time seizures are so-called "occasional seizures" that arise from events such as high fever in young children, poisoning, severe changes in blood sugar levels or alcohol abuse. The term epilepsy is first used when the seizure occurs again without a particular cause. The burden on these patients depends on a variety of factors (type of seizure, frequency, age, profession, response to medication). Diagnostic testing and the selection of the most suitable form of therapy must be on an individual basis and be effective over a long period of time. Due to our collaboration with the Clinic for Neuropaediatrics, treating children and adolescents with epilepsy, the Clinic for Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Surgery, providing surgical measures to treat epilepsy in adults and children, and the Clinic for Neurology, as the first point of contact for adults, we are able to offer diagnostic testing and therapy for all types of epilepsy. We consider individual consultations and the long-term support and care of patients and relatives to be extremely important. To arrange an outpatient appointment, please contact the surgical care centre at the Schön Klinik Vogtareuth.

Pain in complex illnesses

In addition to diagnostic testing and therapy for acute and chronic back pain, we also offer extensive diagnostics and therapy for complex pain patients, e.g., for people with multiple disabilities or spasticity in all four limbs. Special rooms are available for this purpose that have been adapted for the needs of the disabled and also make it possible for relatives or accompanying persons to stay overnight. Care with specific and special established therapy methods, e.g., Baclofen pump implantation for severe spasticity in collaboration with the neurosurgery clinic, opens up new prospects in the treatment of the individual health disorders of people who are chronically ill with complex diseases.