If you experience chronic back pain, there may be several different causes for this chronic pain, such as spinal arthritis and degenerative disc disorder. Depending on the cause, there can be non-surgical techniques that are enough to alleviate the pain. These can include medication, physical therapy, and sometimes chiropractic techniques. If your pain persists, you may want to consider asking your doctor about spinal surgery.
What Are Health Problems That Can Be Corrected By Spinal Surgery?
Spine surgery is meant to relieve back pain. Back surgery could be an option if nonsurgical treatments do not help resolve this chronic pain. Back pain can often be caused by nerves that are compressed in your spine. Nerves may become compressed for a variety of reasons, including:
- Disc problems. Worn-out discs may press too tightly against a spinal nerve and affect its function.
- Overgrowth of bone. Osteoarthritis can result in excess bone on your spine. This bone surplus can narrow the amount of space available for nerves to pass through openings in your spine.
- Tumors. Tumors are frequently found in the spine and are very painful. They are commonly benign and require no treatment.
- Injuries. Spine trauma and fractures in different parts of the spine may be a cause of chronic pain.
- Scoliosis. This condition is characterized as a not normal curvature of the spine that leads to severe pain.
- Spinal Stenosis. This condition involves the narrowing of the spinal canal which results in nerve compression.
- Spondylolisthesis. This condition happens when one of the bones of the spine slips out of alignment with the rest.
What Are My Options For Back Surgery?
It can be challenging to know the exact cause of your back pain, even if your test results show that you have conditions like disc problems or bone overgrowth. Different types of back surgery that aim to relieve the pain include:
- Discectomy. This procedure involves the removal of the ruptured disc to relieve neck compression.
- Laminectomy. This surgery involves the extraction of the bone overlying the spinal canal to relieve nerve pressure caused by spinal stenosis.
- Fusion. Spinal fusion permanently links two or more bones in your spine.
- Artificial discs. Artificial Disc Replacement surgery is a newer alternative treatment to spinal fusion. This treatment uses an implanted disc instead of joining bones together.
Sometimes a combination of non-surgical treatments with spine surgery results in the best outcome for the patient.
How Can I Find The Right Surgeon For My Needs?
Spine surgery is a challenging process. Having the correct medical team is vital to receiving positive outcomes. At Comprehensive Spine Care in New Jersey, our board-certified orthopedic spine surgeons have decades of experience in treating degenerative disc disorders, sports and work-related spine injuries, scoliosis, tumor surgery, minimally invasive surgery, and cervical disc replacement.
Most of the medical procedures performed by our surgeons are performed in a minimally-invasive fashion. Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a relatively new field of Spine Surgery that allows doctors to perform surgery without cutting large muscles in the spine. Benefits of this medical procedure include:
- Smaller surgical incisions
- Less surgical blood loss
- Lower infection rates
- Less postoperative pain
- Less time in the hospital after surgery
If you wonder if spinal surgery can alleviate your back pain, reach out to our experts at Comprehensive Spine Care. Comprehensive Spine Care is proud to offer treatment to patients at four different locations in Westwood, Clifton, Bridgewater, and Brunswick to serve the community in New Jersey. Call 201-634-1811 for a consultation today.
