When Surgery May be Essential For Your Back Pain |Back pain in Newtown may seem like the end of the world, but sometimes the condition may not be severe. Believe it or not, every type of back pain has a solution. Sometimes only waiting can reduce or altogether remove the back pain.
Back pain can be due to several reasons, such as sitting for long hours, improper position, and more. This type of back pain usually fades away after some time.
Suppose the patient has tried all the possible conservative methods and has not received any results. In that case, the patient considers surgery.
In this post, we have discussed signs when the patient needs surgery and the risks and benefits associated with back surgeries.
Signs that you may need to opt for surgery:
The pain radiates to the upper or lower extremities: Radiating pain is generally due to a compressed nerve. Due to nerve compression, the patient feels numbness, weakness, and tingling sessions in the area supplied by the nerve. Compression is generally caused due to 2 reasons:
- Disc herniation: This condition is also referred to as a slipped disc or a ruptured disc. The center of the disc has a nucleus and is covered by the annulus. When the nucleus pushes out from a crack in the annulus and compresses the surrounding nerve root, this is referred to as disc herniation.
- Bony growths or bone spurs: These are overgrowths of bone. This overgrowth leads to narrowing of the area for nerves to pass through openings in the spine.
The pain is persistent: Back pain usually goes away in a few days or a few weeks. Suppose the pain is constant and does not go away after conservative treatments like physiotherapy, epidural nerve block, corticosteroid injections, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
In case of emergency: Emergency surgery may be required for back pain in some instances of trauma or car accidents. If this surgery is not performed, it can lead to paralysis of the extremity due to extensive nerve compression.
Risks and Benefits associated with back surgery:
Risks:
Back surgery may have several risk factors; even a minor mistake or a complication can lead to long-term deformity or discomfort. These include:
- Damage to vessels supplying the spinal cord.
- Extradural spinal hematoma( bleeding in the spinal column)
- Tears of dura mater of the spinal cord, leading to accidental durotomy ( this is common during spinal surgery if checked on time and repaired causes no harm)
Benefits:
- The pain completely abolishes or is negligible.
- The patient is physically more fit and can perform daily activities without discomfort.
- Patients can work normally and start working out with some precautions.
If you have noticed that your back pain is persistent or radiates, you should consult a spine surgeon for further guidance and care.
