Spinal Stenosis - Treatment and Aftercare
Spinal stenosis is basically narrowing of the spaces in the spine. It can be seen anywhere from the upper/middle or lower back. The causes can be various i.e. bony overgrowth, disk displacement, injuries to the spine, arthritis of the spine as well as tumors, etc. You should Ask A Spine Surgeon or a Neurosurgeon for further diagnosis as well as management of spinal stenosis.
Treatment
Treatment is mainly of two types, Non-surgical and surgical.
Non-surgical comprises of round the clock painkillers, muscle relaxants, steroid shots as well as physiotherapy.
Surgical treatment is considered when the desired level of relief is not achieved by the non-surgical methods, or the daily life quality is not improving despite having non-surgical treatment.
Surgery is basically of three types: 1. Decompression procedure – In this procedure, fine needle-like instruments are used under imaging guidance to release the pressure on the entrapped nerve roots, widening of spinal canal process and/ removal of thickened ligaments on the back of the affected spine.
2. Anterior cervical Discectomy or ACD- Here, the surgeon mainly removes the damaged disc (i.e. Discectomy) in the neck (cervical region) from the front (anterior) of the neck along with the fusion of the spine (stabilization) or a disc replacement.
3. Complete/partial removal of the bone and herniated disc material and fusion of the spine.
The decision to choose the right procedure is largely dependent on the affected area, the severity of the spinal stenosis as well as the operating Neurosurgeon/Spine-surgeon.
Aftercare Recovery period immediately after surgery is again a variable entity (depending on the type, duration of the surgery, overall health condition of the individual prior and during the surgery, pain threshold and several others ). However, generally, 4-6 weeks of a time period is necessary to return to normal daily activities. With good pain relief, minimally invasive surgical procedures this time period is also improving quite rapidly. Along with this routine back care, physiotherapy under the proper supervision of the physiotherapist is also necessary for long-term recovery and wellbeing.
At HealthCareMagic, we’ve dedicated 24x7 service of Neurosurgeon and Spine surgeon specialists. Medical concerns of any form are almost always a time dependant matter, so in case of any further queries feel free to contact Ask A Doctor for any kind of Medical assistance.