Lower Back and Hip Pain, Sciatica and Herniated Disc.

Posts Tagged ‘disc herniation treatment’

Herniated Disc Surgery or Discectomy

When a fragment of spinal disc becomes dislodged and affects the spinal canal then herniated disc surgery or discectomy may be necessary to remove the herniated disc.

Herniated Disc Surgery

The dislodging of the spinal disc is usually accompanied by extreme pain and treatment needs to be effected with some urgency as the dislodged disc is often pressing against the spinal cord. In some cases it can cause stress to other nerves surrounding the spinal cord.

Apart from the extreme pain there is often lower back and hip pain as well as leg pain and sometimes muscle weakness.

Before undergoing herniated disc surgery, your surgeon will determine the extent of dislodgement of the spinal disc including using an MRI scan to ascertain the amount of disc degeneration.
Although most commonly found in older people, this condition can also result from such things as falls and accidents.

Symptoms

Pain not unlike an electric shock is often experienced when the nerves in the cervical and lumbar regions are stressed. This pain can be quite excruciating and can often be felt down the legs and in the arms.

Other symptoms can be numbness in the legs and a tingling sensation.

If the condition is left untreated it can lead to other problems such as difficulty with bowel movements and urinating.

Diagnosing

An MRI scan is used to discover the extent of the damage. In addition muscle strength, reflexes and other sensations in the limbs are measured.

Herniated Disc Surgery

In very broad terms herniated disc surgery involves removing the fragment of the spinal disc has been dislodged. This relieves the pressure on the nerves which was the root cause of the symptoms.

Open Discectomy

In this procedure a 3 cm incision is made to remove the fragment thus relieving pressure on the nerve. The length of the operation depends on the extent of damage but usually lasts about one hour.

Endoscopic Discectomy

This procedure involves using an endoscope, a piece of surgical apparatus containing a tiny camera that is used to locate the offending fragment and the necessary tools to enable removal of the herniated disc. Using this method involves very tiny incisions and can be done in some cases under local anaesthetic, meaning recovery time is reduced.

Recovery

As expected there is some pain around the incisions which is controlled using oral medication. The pain associated with the dislodged disc will usually disappear or decrease after a few weeks. Generally only one day in hospital is required. After surgery it is recommended to use caution when moving around and sometimes a lumbar corset brace may be prescribed.

Generally most patients get total or near total reduction in the symptoms.

disc herniation treatment