Back Pain
Lower back pain is most commonly caused by degeneration of the disc and facet joints (spondylosis). Other rarer conditions such as infection, tumours or inflammatory disease can also cause deteriorating back pain.
Most back pain can be treated non-surgically through activity modification, regular gentle exercise to improve core strength, analgesic medication, therapist guidance, massage, heat, TENS machines and pain management programs. Facet joint injections, epidural injection and spinal cord stimulators may be used for more resistant pain.
Surgical intervention for back pain (spinal fusion or disc replacement) is often a last resort for debilitating pain and reserved for patients in which the cause for pain generation can be identified through spinal investigations (X-Ray, MRI scan, Bone Scan, Facet joint blocks, Discograms).
The most common conditions that affect the lower back are back pain or referred nerve pain (commonly called sciatica) associated with referred weakness, numbness or pins and needles radiating through one or both legs.
So the various options available for the lower back include decompression surgery which can involve:
- microdiscectomy which is removing the disc material that is pressing on the nerve;
- decompression surgery alone for central nerve compression;
- stabilization of the spine for spine instability or back pain; or
- disc replacement surgery for back pain.
I thoroughly evaluate the condition that is affecting your spine and provide you with a comprehensive array of treatment options to provide you with the best chance of achieving a resolution of those symptoms.
