Spine surgery sounds scary, especially when you’re dealing with back pain for a long time.

Date:   9/24/2020 2:06:10 PM ( 4 y ago)

Spine surgery sounds scary, especially when you’re dealing with back pain for a long time. Worldwide, back pain is one of the most common reasons why employees miss workdays. Experts estimate that 80% of the global population will deal with back pain at some point in their life. This condition affects everyone, from adolescents to elders and is the third most common reason for doctor appointments. 

What triggers pain in your back?

Your back is a complex structure of muscles, ligaments, joints, and bones. Irritated joints, rupture discs, sprained ligaments, and injuries can cause back pain. In addition, obesity, psychological stress and poor posture can also cause backaches. Sometimes a disease of the internal organs can trigger back pain.

Your spine is the main structural component of your body. An issue with it can affect your body’s mobility, posture, balance, and even walking. Your spine has a vital role, it protects the spinal cord that connects your brain with the rest of your body, so a spine injury can limit your body’s ability to move or perform other actions, and therefore impact your quality of life.

But only because you experience pain in your back, it doesn’t mean you need surgery. In fact, most back pains can be treated with nonsurgical measures like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, core strengthening, and psychical therapy. Surgery is the last resort when none of the above options functions. Spinal fusion is a treatment solution when pain radiates from your spinal stenosis to your nerves. Doctors often perform it together with another procedure that takes care of nerve pain. 

What should you know about spinal stenosis?

Your spine is a stack of bones separated by disks made of cushioning material. There are seven vertebrae in the neck, twelve in the upper back and five in the lower back. Vertebrae have a cylindrical body with bony projections in the end that allow them to interlock with each other. Between the hollow rings of the vertebrae runs the spinal cord and nerves exit from the spinal canal to connect with the body’s neural system. 

You experience spinal stenosis when there is a narrowing of your neural foramen (the spaces between the vertebras that allow nerves to exit) or the spinal canal. The condition puts pressure on your nerves, often in the low back, and because it impinges on your sciatic nerve, you feel pain extending through your legs. When you suffer from sciatica, you experience tingling, numbness, weakness, and sharp pain in the low back and legs. Your doctor will first recommend nonsurgical treatment to relieve the symptoms, but when they fail to alleviate the pain, they can advise for surgery. 

When the discs become worn down or ruptured, they press against each other and trigger pain. When the condition limits your range of motion or chronic pain, your doctor may recommend surgery to release pressure from the nerves and alleviate discomfort. 

What is spinal fusion surgery?

The surgery doesn’t work as a cure for all back problems because as stated before it’s the last resort when other, more conservative solutions don’t yield results. Your doctor will conduct multiple imaging tests to determine if surgery is the best treatment for your condition. They often approve the procedure if you suffer from a tumour, spine deformity, fractured vertebra, degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, herniated disc, degenerative disc disease or herniated disc. 

The spinal fusion surgery permanently connects two or more vertebrae to eliminate motion between them and alleviate pain. The procedure is created to mimic the normal healing process of the bones, so the surgeon inserts a bone or bone-like material between your vertebrae, and uses screws, rods and metal plates to hold them together as they heal and become a unit. The surgeon can use bone graft from another part of the body, a local autograft, or bone harvested from a deceased donner. They can also insert artificial grafting materials made from synthetic materials. 

There are multiple techniques to approach this procedure, and the complexity of your condition determines what the right solution is. Your surgeon may refer to this procedure under a different name because according to the part of the spine they operate, they use other terms to refer to the surgery. 

The doctor can also use an invasive laparoscope to perform the procedure when the location of the affected vertebrae allows for it. 

Before and after the surgery

A medical professional cleanses the area with an antiseptic before the surgeon makes the incision. You must be asleep for the procedure, so you’ll have general anaesthesia administered. Depending on your condition, the doctor will pick a suitable approach; however, no matter the method they prefer, they must perform an incision at the site of the damaged vertebra. If they use a bone graft, they may harvest it from your pelvis, so they will first perform an incision to the part of the body and then focus on tour vertebra. 

During the procedure, they place the bone graft between the injured discs and use screws to secure it. Modern medicine allows them to make small incisions close to the damaged vertebra to prevent infection and blood loss. 

After the surgery, you remain hospitalised for a few days. Your doctor will provide you with recommendations on home care when you are ready to leave the hospital. Expect your surgeon to prescribe pain killers because you will feel pain right after the surgery. It can take even several months to experience the effects of the procedure because it takes time for the fussed vertebrae to function as one. 70% of the patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery report an improvement in symptoms. You will also receive instructions on how to walk, sleep, sit, stand, and articulate your members. You may even have to see a physical therapist for a couple of months after the surgery. 

Listen to your doctor’s recommendation because they will support you to live your life in full motion. Don’t hesitate to reach for help when your back pain impacts your quality of life. 

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