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Disc Surgery
Disc surgery is a drastic treatment option for pain stemming from herniated or
degenerated disc
conditions. Surgery is never an easy choice and is always a
risky
and scary experience for any patient to endure. Understanding the facts about your disc conditions will help you to make an informed choice when it comes time to decide if surgery is the correct modality for your
treatment resistant back pain.
Types of Disc Surgery
There are numerous procedures used to correct spinal disc abnormalities. Doctors usually specialize in a particular procedure or type of procedure, so do not be surprised if you are recommended for a particular operation. It is wise to consult with several surgeons to get objective second opinions on whether surgery is appropriate for your pain and if so, what type of procedure will have the best chance to relieve your symptoms. As a general rule,
minimally invasive back surgery
is always preferred, since patients heal much faster and have less scar tissue and chance for complications. Full open
spinal surgeries
are old technology and should only be used when there is absolutely no other method of performing a mandatory procedure.
Conditions Warranting Disc Surgery
Surgery shows mediocre to poor results for the permanent correction of
herniated disc
pain. Surgery demonstrates even worse results for correcting pain blamed on
degenerative disc disease.
Both of these conditions are very common in the general population, yet pain is only experienced by a small percentage of people with these disc abnormalities. Most cases of disc related pain are actually due to some idiopathic source. Being that no verifiable condition can be singled out, the abnormal disc acts as a
scapegoat
on which all the symptoms are blamed. This is a travesty of medicine, since the symptoms often do not even correspond to the disc condition. Doctors do not generally diagnose the majority of
psychosomatic back pain
conditions, even though they are the most common of all symptomatic spinal syndromes. Remember that physical back pain generally responds well to proper treatment. If your pain has defied treatment and remained unresolved despite many therapy attempts, there is a good chance that your diagnosis is incorrect.
Recommendation on Disc Surgery
Operations are serious health risks and can damage healthy tissue permanently. I have met hundreds, maybe thousands of patients who have been irreparably disabled by their unsuccessful spinal surgeries. Worse of all, most of these patients still have the
back ache
which was supposed to be eliminated by their surgeries! This is the reason why SURGERY SHOULD ALWAYS BE A LAST RESORT OPTION as a
back pain treatment
modality. There are so many conservative treatments which show comparable or better treatment results to surgery for
disc pain
relief. You owe it to yourself to exhaust all these non-invasive options before even considering a back operation. If you have decided on surgery as a proper treatment for your pain, at least research the different procedures and find one that has the best chance of working for your individual condition. I would love to hear your surgical experiences. Please
write to me
and let me know your thoughts and experiences on how
back surgery
has either helped or hindered your disc related pain.
Disc Surgery to Back Pain Home
10/22/08 Revised 9/25/09
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