Statistics reveal that around 80% of people have suffered back pain, without marking major differences between young or adult people, making distinctions between sedentary people and athletes or workers who make great physical effort.
Low back pain, as it is called, is a pathology that originates in the lower back. It can manifest as muscle aches, shooting pains, and pains that radiate down the leg, which are worse when the person bends, stands, or walks.
Low back pain is related to the musculoskeletal structure of the spine and, in general, disappears with the passage of days or weeks, without the need of surgical solutions.
As symptoms tend to disappear, the patient must remain as active as possible, when adopting postures and perform movements that do not overload the spine and muscles.Cold application should be started immediately after the injury followed by heat on the forecoming days.
In addition, if the pain is not very intense and does not radiate to a leg, the use of analgesics, anti-inflammatories and, eventually, the muscle relaxant can be considered.
But, if the pain is persistent and is related to fractures, spondylitis, neoplastic, neurological, infectious, vascular, endocrine, metabolic, gynecological or psychosomatic causes, other alternatives should be considered for its solution.
When there is a need to improve structural anomalies, the appropriate resource is surgery
- Discectomy, if it is required to remove a herniated part of the disc to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
- Laminectomy, to remove the bone that covers spinal cord, in order to relieve the pressure caused by a stenosis.
- Fusion, consisting, basically, in joining two or more vertebrae of the spine, with the purpose of stabilizing a fracture and eliminating the pain that occurs with the movement of the vertebrae.
- Disc implantation, as a possible alternative to fusion.
The fusion surgical technique is used when there is instability in the spine, arthritic pain, some deformity, narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal (vertebral stenosis) or some degenerative disc disease.
As a surgical option, neurosurgeons can apply. percutaneous techniques such as radiofrequency denervation, electrothermal therapy and vertebroplasty by means of an injecting a special bone cement.
There are also decompression techniques, such as microdiskectomy, to remove herniated fragments of the intervertebral disc, and microdecompression, to treat canal stenosis.
I have acquired specialized knowledge and use the most advanced instruments to provide treatments for low back pain and practice spinal surgery in Costa Rica.
If you or a family member suffers from back pain, I am here to help you. Please be free to schedule an appointment.
