Spine Problems

UK sources of information and / or support

 Spinal Injuries Association

National organisation of spinal cord injured people. Represents and supports all those who are affected by spinal cord injury, including the family and friends of the disabled person, regardless of how the impairment occurred and whether or not it has resulted in full or partial paralysis.

 Back-up Trust

The Back-Up Trust is a national charity dedicated to providing opportunities for spinally injured and able bodied individuals to experience the buzz of outdoor activities together and so increase self belief, independence and motivation.

 ASPIRE

ASPIRE works with people with spinal cord injury to create opportunity, choice and independence for disabled people in society.

 Apparelyzed.com - Quadriplegic and Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury Support Site

A support website for people with spinal cord injuries and their carersand family. The site contains a forum area for peer support into allaspects of this injury, and gives important information for the better understanding of damage to the spinal cord.

 British Brain and Spine Foundation

Involved in medical research into neurological disorders and provides information to the general public and health professionals.

 Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Metastatic Spinal Cord Compression.

 Automated Percutaneous Mechanical Lumbar Discectomy

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Automated Percutaneous Mechanical Lumbar Discectomy.

 Direct C1 Lateral Mass Screw for Cervical Spine Stabilisation

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Direct C1 Lateral Mass Screw for Cervical Spine Stabilisation.

 Therapeutic Percutaneous Image-guided Aspiration of Spinal Cord Cysts

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Therapeutic Percutaneous Image-guided Aspiration of Spinal Cord Cysts.

 Prosthetic Intervertebral Disc Replacement in the Cervical Spine

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Prosthetic Intervertebral Disc Replacement in the Cervical Spine.

 Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine

A patient guide to complement the NICE national guideline for health professionals called Prosthetic intervertebral disc replacement in the lumbar spine.

 Following a Lumbar Laminectomy

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provide a wide range of patient information leaflets including one in this area.

 Oxford Neurosurgeon

UK based website written by a surgeon. Contains information for patients and refering doctors on common spinal conditions and their treatment, including minimally invasive spinal surgery. Also includes information on neurosurgical operations such as brain tumours and pituitary surgery.Includes MRI scans and diagrams of specific operations.

 My Spine

MySpine is a community, developed by Spinal Research, which brings together people who have been affected by spinal injury.

 Kyphosis

Information from NHS Choices - the government's patient information portal.

 Lumbar decompressive surgery

Information from NHS Choices - the government's patient information portal.

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.