Persistent back pain is a widespread issue, impacting numerous individuals and significantly hindering their daily lives. If the usual treatments such as drugs, exercises, and changes in lifestyle are not helping after six weeks or more, then one may choose spinal surgery as a last resort. If you experience symptoms like persistent pain, neurological symptoms like numbness or weakness, progressive loss of function, and bowel or bladder control disruptions, you must go for spine surgery. As for assessing pain management, it is necessary to look at pain severity, past treatment failures, and present health status.
Before undergoing a spine operation, it is necessary to consult a good spine surgeon. Although traditional methods such as drugs, exercises, and lifestyle changes can help curb backaches, in cases of unbearable pain, it is necessary to look at new ways. Dr Ashish Dagar, Consultant, Spine surgery, Manipal Hospital, Gurugram shares several symptoms that may indicate that you need a spine operation. They are:
- Disruptions in bowel or bladder control:
Spine surgery becomes critical if one faces any disruptions in bowel or bladder control. Any delay in operation could lead to a permanent loss of these two abilities. It is important to identify these problems early enough and schedule surgery so as to prevent any further causalities.
- Numbness or weakness in your limbs:
Tingling, numbness, and weakening of your limbs can be connected to the lower part of your back, which is called the lumbar spine. Sometimes a ruptured or bulging disc may come too close to a spinal nerve. This causes both discomfort and changes in nerve function.
- Muscle or ligament tear:
Spine surgery may be necessary in cases where there is severe pain caused by a torn muscle or ligament. These strong ropes are made of hard, fibrous tissues that connect muscles to bones to make the body move. The back may become painful and unstable once these ropes have been pulled beyond their limits.
- Difficulty in daily activities:
If you’re experiencing regular difficulties conducting daily activities due to back pain and it’s interfering with your lifestyle and freedom, visiting an expert is relevant to you. Visiting a spine surgeon will assist in identifying the problem and providing options like surgery to improve mobility.
Dr Dagar explains the common conditions requiring spine treatment:
- Degenerative disc disease is a condition in which one or more of the discs between the vertebrae break down.
- A herniated disc refers to an injury where there is at least one damaged disc supporting the spine.
- Vertebral fractures can result from either injuries or osteoporosis.
- Spinal stenosis occurs when the spinal canal narrows and puts pressure on the spinal cord along with surrounding nerves.
- Spondylolisthesis occurs when one bone moves forward on top of another.
Spine surgery can improve the quality of your life if you are in a lot of pain.
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