Musculoskeletal Examination of the Spine

The physical examination of the spine can be a complex topic for professionals with all levels of clinical experience.

Jeffrey A. Rihn, MD is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and The Rothman Institute. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society. He then completed a 5-year orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a spine fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. His practice includes the treatment of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar degenerative disorders; spinal trauma, deformity, spinal infections, and tumors of the spine. He is actively involved in numerous research projects, with a special focus on clinical outcomes research. Dr. Rihn is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and is an active member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the North American Spine Society, the American Spinal Injury Association, and the Council on the Value of Spinal Care. He has published numerous peer-reviewed studies, review articles, and book chapters on various topics of spinal care and has presented his research at numerous national and international meetings.

Eric B. Harris, MD is the Director of the Multidisciplinary Spine Center at the Naval Medical Center San Diego in San Diego, California. His specific interests include adult deformity correction, less invasive management of thoracolumbar disk degeneration, and cervical disk arthroplasty. After his residency at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, he furthered his orthopedic training with a spine surgery fellowship at The Rothman Institute and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. While there, Dr. Harris held a faculty teaching appointment at the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine.
Dr. Harris began his academic career at the University of Utah where he earned his bachelor of science degree in environmental earth sciences with minors in chemistry and naval science. His medical training began at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where he obtained his medical degree.

After a basic surgery internship at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, he attended Diving Medical Officer training in Groton, Connecticut and Panama City Beach, Florida. He was then assigned to the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory in Groton, CT where he completed research on Vitamin D deficiency in underway submariners as well as assisting in numerous studies on the underwater effects of sound on US Navy divers. Dr. Harris then returned to San Diego for his residency followed by his fellowship in Philadelphia.

Dr. Harris is currently stationed at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and in January of 2011 deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He has produced numerous publications for peer reviewed journals, as well as book chapters, and has been invited faculty at several educational spine meetings in the United States.