For patients with spinal stenosis, operative treatment is associated with a lower risk of death and lower costs over two years, compared with nonoperative treatment, suggests a study in the February issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Among the benefits of minimally invasive spine surgery are less damage to muscles and soft tissue, less pain after surgery, shorter hospital stay, and quicker recovery and return to daily activities. Types of surgeries that can be performed include spinal fusion for disk disease, spinal tumor removal, deformity correction, and lumber spinal stenosis repair.
The two types of spinal stenosis are lumbar stenosis and cervical stenosis. Lumbar spinal stenosis is the more common of the two, but cervical spinal stenosis is often more dangerous since it involves compression of the spinal cord.
Sciatica happens when something presses on or traps the sciatic nerve. The most common cause is a herniated disk in the lower spine. Another risk factor is spinal stenosis, a condition that causes the spinal column to narrow.
A herniated disc is a potentially painful medical problem that occurs when the discs found between the vertebrae in the spine slip out of place. The condition develops when the inner, jelly-like core of the disc ruptures, breaking through the hard exterior. Herniated disc are also sometimes called slipped or ruptured discs.
One of the most important things we can do is maintain a healthy weight limit; this will help to maintain the proper bone alignment and stabilization of the spine, and prevents further degeneration of the spine.
