Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : January 17, 2023 7:43 PM IST
A sedentarily lifestyle can put you at risk of many chronic diseases. Lack of exercise, obesity and bad posture can adversely affect the spine, and eventually lead to back injuries necessitating surgery, warns Dr. Vivek Loomba, Consultant Pain Physician at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi.
Listing the reasons for spine surgery, Dr Loomba says that common indications for spine surgery include congenital malformations, spinal trauma, disc prolapse, and spinal stenosis.
He explains, "Spinal surgeries are invasive procedures that include surgeries performed for the correction of spine structural abnormalities. They often are used when normal pain management options have failed to bring any relief."
Further, the expert highlights the importance of pain management after surgery to reduce hospital stay and improve the patient's mobility and satisfaction.
In an exclusive interaction with TheHealthSite, Dr Loomba sheds light on the types of spine surgery and post-operative care options to control pain and improve recovery time.
According to Dr Loomba, there are several types of spine surgery such as:
Discectomy: In this, the herniated part of the disc is removed for the accessibility of the inflamed nerve and to ease the irritated nerve.
Laminectomy: Laminectomy involves removing a part or all of the lamina i.e. the roof of the spinal canal. Thereby, the spinal canal is enlarged to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
Fusion: It is the joining of two or more vertebrae of the spine using metalware like screws and rods. It brings about pain relief as it could stabilise a spinal fracture or eradicate the pain that occurs due to the movement of vertebrae that can injure the vertebral discs.
Disc implant: The replacement of a worn or degenerated disk in the lower part of the spine with an artificial disk that is made of metal or a combination of metal and plastic.
Spinal deformity correction surgery: This implies the corrective surgery for patients with kyphosis and scoliosis.
Spinal surgeries are performed for the correction of spinal pathologies that cause unbearable pain or when there is a risk of damage to the spinal nerves.
In most cases, initial conservative treatment is tried before going ahead with the surgical option. The pain may be caused secondary to compression of the spinal nerves from disc herniations, osteoporosis, vertebral fractures, infections like tuberculosis, or cancer like multiple myeloma etc. The pain from spinal pathology may radiate to the upper and/or lower extremities.
Fusion or vertebral arthrodesis is performed in the case of scoliosis or spondylolisthesis, hypertrophic arthrosis joints, deformities, spinal stenosis, and degenerative disc disease.
Microdiscectomy is performed for the removal of herniated disc and Microdecompression is done to treat canal stenosis.
Spine surgery is performed routinely nowadays. The patient is kept under observation for a few days after the surgery. The incision site has to be kept clean and the instructions provided by the surgeon have to be followed.
In the case of surgeries like microdiscectomy, discectomy, vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, there is minimal pain, and patients are able to walk a few hours after surgery. For most other surgical procedures, patients are able to walk around and do their daily activities within a few days after surgery. Patients with vertebral fractures may need a prolonged recovery time. Physiotherapy and back strengthening exercises are usually advised a couple of weeks after the surgery. They improve muscle strengthening, and thus assist in the recovery process.
Dr Vivek Loomba insists that good pain relief after surgery goes a long way in early mobility, hospital discharge and improving patient satisfaction. According to him, pain management options after surgery include:
To summarize, pain after spine surgery can be minimized by using various medications, physiotherapy and exercise.
Dr Vivek Loomba believes that a thorough discussion with your surgeon and pain management physician prior to surgery will help allay your anxiety for spine surgical procedures.
