Spine Procedures

Several weeks of recovery may be required for traditional “open” surgery as it may involve a three-inch long incision, in which muscles and tissues are separated for optimal access to the injury site. The surgery usually results in trauma to surrounding tissues and some blood loss. Because of this the affected tissues and muscles need adequate healing time.

Physical therapy and injection therapy are the two most common tools used by a spine center to help patients recover from back or neck pain — without surgery. A physician who fails to use these nonsurgical options may only be increasing the need for surgery. Spine surgery should be the last option to explore.While physical therapy is the safest treatment option, sometimes intense pain prevents a patient from entering physical therapy. Injections can often relieve pain long enough to begin therapy. There are many different injections that can be used including epidural steroid injections, facet injections and trigger point injections which can stimulate healing of weak or damaged connective tissues. Injections can also act as a diagnostic tool by providing a spine specialist with key information and insight into the possible causes of your back or neck pain symptoms.

Perhaps the most anticipated advance in spine surgery over the past 20 years was the arrival of the artificial disc. The first artificial disc in the United States received formal approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for widespread use in the United States on October 26, 2004. While this technology is somewhat new to the U.S., artificial discs have been in use in Europe for more than 15 years.

or damaged structures to heal, good blood supply is essential for repair and to remove waste products. The bones, ligaments and muscles in the back have a good blood supply, so the back can heal reasonably well.

Once you encounter back or neck pain, you are four times as likely to experience it again. This is why prevention is essential to your long-term recovery.

Pain is a signal from the body to the brain that something is wrong. Either theback is too weak, too inflexible or the wrong body mechanics were used to perform a task.

A physiatrist, or physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, specializes in the nonsurgical management of back and neck pain. While many doctors provide drugs to mask symptoms of pain, these drugs leave a patient debilitated and dependent upon them for pain relief. A physiatrist, on the other hand, provides techniques and treatments that enable back and neck pain sufferers to return to activity without surgery.

South Bend Spine uses state of the art minimally invasive techniques and instrumen- tation to help patients recover in a shorter period of time and allow for a quicker re- turn home. In minimally invasive spine surgery, a smaller incision is made, sometimes only a half-inch in length. The surgeon inserts special surgical instruments through these tiny incisions to access the damaged disc in the spine. Minimally invasive spine surgery requires extensive training and experience to master use of the tools, but there is tremendous benefit for the patient.

When you go to the dentist to get a cavity filled, the dentist will remind you to floss and brush your teeth daily to prevent future cavities. Similarly, we strongly emphasize a daily back or neck exercise program to prevent a future recurrence of back strain. Once you have a back pain attack, you’re four times more likely to have a recurrence. Being a previous victim of back pain requires you to work extra hard to prevent future back attacks.