About 8% of adults (16 million Americans) suffer from chronic back pain. If you’re one of them, you know it can keep you down and upend your life.
You can also understand the link between chronic back pain and depression, which sets you up for a cruel, intensifying cycle because depression exacerbates pain and makes it last longer.
The good news is that advanced surgical procedures can remedy the pain caused by debilitating and life-limiting back problems like herniated discs, one of the most common spinal conditions.
A herniated disc occurs when the soft centers of your back’s shock absorbers — the discs — bulge through the outer layer and invade the space in your spinal column. The bulge puts pressure on the nerves, causing excruciating pain.
Fortunately, the Advanced Spine and Pain team offers advanced treatments that relieve the continuous, life-altering pain of bulging discs.
Sometimes, surgery is the best solution, but which one? Here’s a look at two viable options — microdiscectomy and spinal fusion and when we might recommend both.
Microdiscectomy removes the part of your disc that’s compressing your nerves and causing the pain.
Spinal fusion connects adjacent vertebrae so your spine is stronger and more stable.
If your herniated disc is severe, limits mobility, and doesn’t respond to conservative treatment, we may recommend both procedures simultaneously to remove the damaged tissue and stabilize your spine to prevent further injury and pain.
To perform a microdiscectomy, our board-certified surgeon, Dr. Randy Davis, makes small incisions directly above your affected disc or discs. He then extracts the problematic disc material using a microscope and a precision laser so it no longer puts pressure on your nerves.
He uses specially designed surgical tools that fit through thin tubes, allowing us to access the treatment area without making a large incision.
For the spinal fusion procedure, he connects two or more spinal bones using small metal rods and screws, making your spine more solid and secure. To access the area, he makes small incisions in your side, neck, or back, depending on the area of your spine causing pain.
We recommend surgical solutions like microdiscectomy and spinal fusion when crippling back pain either keeps recurring or doesn’t respond to other treatments.
For example, if you have a lumber (lower back), thoracic (middle back), or cervical (upper back) disc herniation that causes chronic pain, weakness, and numbness in your legs or arms, you may need a microdiscectomy.
Spinal fusion, on the other hand, treats injuries, scoliosis (abnormal spine curvature), and spinal instability due to infection or tumors. Dr. Davis recommends this procedure when spinal movement triggers or exacerbates your symptoms.
Dr. Davis performs both procedures together when you have a problematic herniated disc coupled with spinal instability.
Dr. Davis performs microdiscectomies and spinal fusions using minimally invasive surgical techniques that offer multiple advantages over traditional open surgery, such as:
Even when surgery is minimally invasive, you need to take it easy afterward, and recovery depends on the number of discs affected and their location. Spinal fusion surgery recovery can take several months, but it can take up to a full year to resume your full range of normal activities and for complete healing to take place.
Learn more about these cutting-edge procedures and whether you might be a candidate — request an appointment online or call Advanced Spine and Pain in Stafford, Fairfax, Woodbridge, or Arlington, Virginia, or in Baltimore or Halethorpe, Maryland.
