How A Slipped Disc Can Be Treated With Or Without Surgery
Slipped Disc
Slipped disc injuries are among the most common back problems in modern society. The discs in the lumbar, the lower part of the back, are a vital part of the human body. They allow the spine to move freely, and the back to be supple and flexible. The negative side of this arrangement is that there is plenty of potential for the discs to become dislocated, or to move, or to rupture and allow their contents to spill out and cause problems in the spinal region. Dealing with these difficulties can involve spinal physiotherapy or invasive surgery.
There are many different back ailments which can create similar symptoms, and this can make diagnosis difficult. The combination of highly sophisticated equipment and the traditional physical examination gives modern physicians a great advantage of knowing exactly what is causing the pain and discomfort. If the pain is in the lumbar region toward the base of the spine, the discs will be a major suspect. If a disc has actually slipped, part of the outer casing will have cracked, and this can allow the gel contained within to seep out.
The best way to treat this condition is with exercise and manipulative treatment. If you can persuade your physician to provide you with a fitness program which will be suitable for your specific condition, you can expect to make good progress in the vast majority of cases. It is inadvisable to think about surgery until you have given these non-invasive methods a chance to work. Although back surgery has a very high success rate, no treatment which involves an anesthetic can ever be considered risk free.
Some cases of slipped discs will need to be treated with surgery, and these can be extremely difficult. If manipulative treatments have not managed to make a difference in this specific case, you will need surgery. It is best to wait for a month or two before committing to surgery, to give the other less invasive treatments a chance to work. If surgery is needed for lower back problems, it can often be because fluid has leaked out from a disc. If this has happened, a kind of double surgery will be needed.
To treat a slipped disc which has leaked fluid, it could be necessary to insert a tube into the area to drain off the excess fluid. This will need to be done separately from the major surgical procedure, and then the tube will need to be removed after the operation has been carried out. If this advanced surgery is necessary, it will create more risk due to the increased use of anesthetic. It will also mean that a longer recovery period will be needed before the patient can return to work. The good news is that this extreme surgery is rarely necessary to correct a slipped disc.