Back
Pain Surgery
Terms you should know
Conservative treatment : Treatment by non surgical means.
Trauma : Injury.
Dislocation : Displacement of bones from the normal position in a joint.
Lamina : Part of the vertebrae that provides stability between two vertebral bodies.
CT scan : A special x-ray procedure using a computer to produce a detailed cross-sectional three – dimensional picture of the bone and discs.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) : Magnetic radio frequency energy used to see internal structures of the body, including bones, discs, and nerves without the use of x-rays.
Surgery is the last resort for the treatment of back pain. Fewer than 1 in 100 people require surgery for back pain.
However, in certain cases, surgery can significantly help back pain sufferers. For some, it can completely eliminate the pain; for others, it reduces the level of pain. But surgery is always a last resort, and is offered only when conservative treatments have failed (unless there is an emergency indication for surgery).
Proper patient selection decides the result of surgery. If surgery is undertaken for the correct reason in the appropriate patient, good results can be expected. Most experts agree that in the past, surgery was frequently done for back problems, but not many people were helped by it. In fact, for some surgery worsened the pain. The key to successful surgery is proper selection of individuals who would benefit most from it.
