Back Pain Relief Advances

Recent advances in technology and techniques back surgery is no longer as invasive as it once was. With these incredible advances used today surgery to relieve back pain will have you back on your feet within days instead of weeks.

Back in ’95 I developed a herniated disc between my L5-S1 vertebrae. Over a period of 9 months the pain grew to the point where I could not walk upright. So I opted for back surgery to relieve my pain. At the time surgery meant the doctor had to cut open my back, go through all my muscles and shave 20% of my disc down. This prolongs healing as a result of all the damage that is done on the way to fix the problem. It took 5 years for the numbness in my feet to subside because of the scar tissue.

Four advanced techniques used today are minimally invasive. The reduced size of the incision reduces the muscles and tissue that are cut or moved, which reduces scar tissue, and recovery time. I would have preferred any one of these slightly different approaches to reduce my prolonged post-opt pain.

Four advanced techniques that provide back pain relief:

1. Endoscopic Foraminotomy is an endoscopic procedure typically used to relieve pressure on the nerves caused by the portion of the vertebra where the nerve root exits the spinal canal. (A pinched nerve). A small incision is used, to place a series of tubes to widen the opening around the vertebrae instead of cutting muscle and tissue. This reduces the damage around the affected area speeding up recovery.

2. Laminotomy removes a portion of a plate along the vertebra that covers the spinal canal. This widens the spinal canal to allow more room for the nerves to pass through. This is used for stenosis or a herniated disc in the lower back or neck, and comes with a fast recovery time.

3. Percutaneous Endoscopic Discetomy or laser discoplasty is typically done in the neck. A long hollow needle is used eliminating the need to cut. A laser slides in the needle and pulses light at the herniated disc material. This shrinks the material significantly releasing pressure. All that is left is a needle prick and you are home in a couple of hours.

4. Facet Thermal Ablation is an alternative to open back surgery around joints. A 5mm tube with a laser and irrigation tool inside. It is used to eliminate the cartilage surrounding the joint to release pressure off the nerves and relieve pain. The recovery time is reduced again because of the small incision.

I was in the hospital for three days from my open back surgery before I could walk. Any of these procedures could have had me home the same day, and reduced my post-opt pain and recovery time. In the old days the biggest problem after surgery was the post-opt scar tissue build up that replace whatever had been pressing on the nerves. All these procedures minimize the cutting, moving around of muscle, and tissue reducing post-opt scaring. This greatly increases the success of back surgery today. To learn more about these procedures, follow this link: back pain relief.