FAQs

You should consider seeing a spine specialist if you have persistent neck or back pain, radiating arm or leg pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, walking difficulty, balance changes, or symptoms that have not improved with appropriate conservative care. Sudden weakness, bowel or bladder changes, or progressive neurologic symptoms should be evaluated urgently.

Dr. Grabel treats degenerative neck and back disorders, disc herniation, myelopathy, radiculopathy, sciatica, scoliosis, spinal deformity, spinal fractures, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and spondylolysis.

His listed procedures include ACDF, cervical disc replacement, cervical foraminotomy, cervical laminectomy and fusion, cervical laminoplasty, microdiscectomy, ALIF, LLIF, TLIF, laminectomy, minimally invasive and percutaneous procedures, navigated spine surgery, posterior spinal fusion, revision spine surgery, and spine deformity correction.

Cervical disc replacement is a motion-preserving surgery for selected patients with cervical disc disease and nerve compression. It involves removing the diseased disc and placing an artificial disc. Patient selection is important.

Dr. Grabel sees patients in West Palm Beach and Jupiter.

Spine surgery may be considered when symptoms do not improve with appropriate nonsurgical treatment, when there is significant nerve or spinal cord compression, or when progressive neurological problems develop. The recommended procedure depends on the underlying condition and individual anatomy.

Many spine conditions can initially be managed with nonsurgical treatments such as physical therapy, medications, activity modification, and injections. Dr. Grabel evaluates each patient to determine whether nonsurgical care or surgery is appropriate.

Minimally invasive spine surgery uses specialized techniques and smaller incisions to access the spine while limiting disruption to surrounding tissues. Depending on the condition, it may be used for procedures such as decompression or spinal fusion.

A herniated disc occurs when the soft inner material of a spinal disc pushes through a tear or weakened area in its outer layer. If the disc material compresses a nearby nerve, it can cause radiculopathy, including radiating arm or leg pain.

Revision spine surgery is performed when additional surgery is needed after a previous spine procedure. It may be considered for persistent symptoms, recurrent nerve compression, spinal instability, or other complications or changes following previous surgery.