Spinal Stenosis Surgery Relieves You From Back Pain
When the spinal canal narrows and places pressure on the spinal cord, the person suffers from spinal stenosis. When the stenosis affects the upper part of the spinal cord, it is termed cervical spinal stenosis and when it affects the lower part of the spinal cord, it is called lumbar spinal stenosis. However, stenosis in the lumbar spine is much more common than in the cervical spine. Either of these cases requires a spinal stenosis surgery. This surgery widens the spinal canal and relieves pressure on the spinal cord. Spinal stenosis generally affects people over the age of 50 years; however few people are born with this diseased condition. The spinal stenosis symptoms are not easily observable. It can be seen only after the acute inflammation of nerves. In case of lumbar spinal stenosis, patients feel weakness and numbness in legs, calves or buttocks. In case of cervical stenosis, the similar symptoms are observed in shoulder, arms and legs.
Though there are many non-surgical spinal stenosis treatments like medications, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections etc., it may be the case that severe cases need surgery of the spine. In fact, the surgery for spinal stenosis is the most common spine surgery among the aging population. A very common lumbar stenosis surgery is termed decompressive laminectomy. During this surgery the roof (laminae) of the vertebrae are taken out and enough space is created for the improvement of the nerves. The other sorts of lumbar spine surgery include laminotomy, which is sometimes accompanied with foraminotomy. In laminotomy, just a small part of the lamina is taken out which relieves the pressure focused on the nerve roots, while in foraminotomy, the foramin is taken out to make more space over the nerve canal. The cervical spinal stenosis surgery is also of various types. The common ones are cervical discectomy, laminoplasty and cervical corpectomy. In cervical corpectomy, a part of the vertebra and the nearby intervertebral discs are taken out. This decompresses the cervical spinal cord and surrounding spinal nerves. In cervical discectomy, a micro incision is made at the frontal area of the neck to reach the cervical spine and intervertebral disc is taken out after which it is replaced with a piece of bone. This bone fuses with the vertebra after some time. There is also a simpler spinal stenosis treatment in the form of exercises. The spinal stenosis exercises will make your muscles strong and healthy, which will offer support to your back. The most suitable exercises for spinal stenosis include walking and gentle stretches. Another important form of exercise for this condition is swimming. When it comes to spinal stenosis cure and treatment, patients often like to go for the latest techniques in surgery. However, spinal stenosis laser surgery is just a perception as lasers cannot cut bone and so they cannot be used in spinal stenosis decompression surgeries. The laser surgery for spinal stenosis is rather used as a marketing strategy. Like all other fields, the market of spinal surgeries is very competitive and the word 'laser' can be used to stand out in the market. |