Locations
North Jersey Brain and Spine
Oradell, NJ
About
Bio
I am Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. I am interested in treatment of the spine. In particular, I am interested in harnessing the body's innate ability to adapt along with the power of the mind/body synergy to treat back pain through education and exercise. Occasionally, I will use minimally invasive surgery as well.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Neurosurgery
Doctor Q&A
45 Answers
1 Agree
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Spinal cord problems: Syringomyelia is a cavity of fluid within the spinal cord. It is not always symptomatic. It is most commonly present without an obvious cause but may ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Increased symptoms: Spondylolisthesis is a very common condition. Women carry pregnancies with this condition and often are unaware that they even have the condition. Bec... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
A narrow canal: Spinal stenosis is simply a narrow canal. You can be born with it or acquire it through arthritis of the spine. Often, if the canal is narrow enough, ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 67-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Injury to rib nerve: Each rib has a nerve that runs along the rib in a groove under the bone. This nerve can be cut if not separated from the rib before the rib is removed... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Neurology reads eeg: The eeg is a crude test that measures the electric activity that arises from brain function. It is useful to demonstrate asymmetries, slowing, seizure... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not neccessarily : I have unsuccessfully tried to make a science out of sleeping positions and mattress types for various conditions. Sleeping on the back is usually bes... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
No, usually not: There is little difference between endoscopic and microscopic treatments of herniated discs when both are done properly. Many endoscopic disc operatio... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Common complaint : In my experience this is common and not worrisome. The sound may be nitrogen going in and out of the joints in your spine similar to cracking your knu... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 53-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Nothing to worry : Sometimes when doing calf raises the opposing flexion and extension muscles of the back contract together to create spine stability. A slight asymmetr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 50-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Hang in there: What is called a pinched nerve is more properly called radiculopathy. It is the result of compression of a nerve toot as it leaves the spine. It can b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes: Pain in the dorsal area may be related to the facet. If so, the pain should improve with sitting and lying on the side. The facets can become inflamed... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Injection & surgery: When spinal stenosis is moderate in degree responds nicely to exercise-particularly when there is instability and subluxation. When the stenosis is se... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes: Not only can you, but the vast majority of herniated discs are not painful. We know this by looking at many mris of patients without back pain where m... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Maybe: Large breasts can cause back pain by several different pathways. It is unlikely that they resulted in the herniated disc or the spinal stenosis. The b... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
PT can be started: Continued pain after a fusion has to be tested with the following question: was the wrong operation done or was the right operation not done correctly... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 34-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Neurosurg or ortho: Both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons with a spine fellowship are capable to perform the diagnostic workup that includes a history, physical and ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
No: Sciatica is really a misnomer. Most causes of leg pain are more appropriately called radiculopathy, because the compression occurs in the spinal canal... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Now called Chiari ll: A retrospective look has taken arnold's name away. There are two main types of chiari malformations that are not really related to each other. Chiari ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes: More likely than paralysis on the opposite side of the body is weakness or loss of fine finger movement or coordination. There is always a loss of vis... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 45-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Spinal cord problems: The syndrome results from a stretching of the spinal cord which may be clinically manifest by pain, weakness, sensory changes, gait disturbance, or bo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
It means nothing: Bulging discs in the thoracic spine have no meaning. The thoracic spine is not mobile and much less likely to have a significant herniated disc. The p... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 34-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not neccessarily : The neurosurgeon will not treat either of those conditions. They are relatively common findings and typically benign. Some surgeons will arrange for a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 52-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Maybe, maybe not: The rods were place to help you achieve a biologic fusion. The removal of the rods will make this less likely. A biologic fusion can be either fibrous... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Nothing to worry : Massages will frequently result in a stance sensation in the limbs. This is likely related to a nerve that innervates both the back muscle and the leg... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.4k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 51-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Sciatica: This is what is commonly called sciatica but properly described as radiculopathy. The fact that it's distribution of tingling extends into the toe, it... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Narrowing of canal: each nerve root exits the spinal canal through its own bony corridor. This corridor is called the foramen and it can also be narrowed or stenotic. It ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.6k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Agreed: It may be semantics, but when a disc herniation occurs, it presses on a nerve root and not a nerve. We call this radiculopathy. Neuropathy occurs furt... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 46-year-old member asked:
Doctors! what activities would be recommended for a person recovering from a traumatic brain injury?
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Exercise the brain: The brain is capable of far more plasticity than was ever thought possible. The key is persistent work at tasks that are difficult. If an arm is not w... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not necessarily : The decision is not only based on the size of the disc. The following criteria would push you toward surgery: the presence of weakness, duration of sy... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Slightly different: During labor, an anesthetic (a long acting lidocaine) is injected into the space outside of the dura. An epidural for pain is more likely to be steroi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes, very good: The following medications are used for the pain of a herniated disc: anti-inflamatories (both steroidal and non-steroidal), analgesics, narcotics, ant... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Time, PT, surgery: Most herniated discs do not need to be fixed. They are not symptomatic and the body will adapt to them. If there is a symptomatic herniated disc, it w... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 63-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Safe not effective: Laser spine surgery simply means removing disc with a laser rather than manually. It is typically performed percutaneously. Although there are reporte... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
By changing posture: Abulging disc can be reduced by restoring lordosis of the cervical spine and by applying traction to the cervical spine. These can both be achieved wi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old male asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Anyone can improve: The brain's capacity to grow and change has always been underrated. Helen keller was born deaf and blind- i doubt that your tbi is comparable to that.... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 25-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Exam, size, location: Brain and spinal infections often contradict the long-standing surgical belief that infections always need to be drained. In both cases, some infectio... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Not at all: Scoliosis treatment depends on age to some extent. If you are still growing, the scoliosis can progress and needs to be evaluated for bracing or surgi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
There is no answer: The most important thing for you to do is find out whether you are in fact fused. If so, there are no limitations to any treatment. Pain management ca... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes most do: Herniated discs occur frequently on mris. Many are not painful. If there is a painful disc on an mri, the symptoms will resolve more than 90% of the t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Yes and no!: This is occasionally the place that sciatica manifests, but it is an uncommon and non-specific manifestation. Most sciatica occurs at the lower nerve ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
No, no memory loss: Memory is a complicated function that can be affected by pain, but a bell's palsy does not directly impact memory. Also, do not presume that your head... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.5k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Pain not from fx: The old L1 compression fracture is most likely healed at this time and thus not the proximate cause of your pain. There may be bone pushed into the s... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
It depends: The MRI is very good, but not perfect in identifying what the lesion is. The treatment will depend on what the MRI shows. If it is not clear, either i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Learn more : Spine fusions can be helpful, but are offered too frequently. Surgeons tend to underrate the power of time and a back strengthening routine. Fusion su... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4.7k viewsAnswered >2 years agoMerged
A 26-year-old female asked:
Dr. Patrick Rothanswered
Neurosurgery 36 years experience
Either or neither: Head and neck pain is very common and can be the result of a brain lesion or a result of a herniated disc. There is no way to determine the answer to ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
2
Recommendations
115
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Roth is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Roth is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thanks for the different look at it!
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Wonderful
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer or tip was very helpful!
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, NY
Graduated 1987MD
Residency
TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER
Completed 1994
Awards
"Best Doctors in America", Best Doctors in New York, Best Doctors in New Jersey
HealthTap Founding Doctor
Affiliations
AMA, FACS, NJMS, AOA
Publications
Genetic and environmental influences on skeletal muscle phenotypes as a function of age and sex in large, multigenerational families of African herita...
The End of Back Pain published by Harper One 2014
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