Treatments

When the cervical disc herniates, the pressure placed on the cervical spine can cause pain and discomfort. If medication or physical therapies don’t relieve symptoms, your neurologist may recommend a discectomy, a procedure to remove the damaged disc, or a laminectomy (removal of any bone spurs surrounding the vertebrae).

By removing the pressure on your spine, a cervical discectomy may provide long-term neck pain relief. Depending on your symptoms and their underlying cause, your spine surgeon also may suggest an artificial disc replacement or cervical spinal fusion.

A cervical fusion limits the movement of the cervical vertebrae by permanently joining them together using a bone graft or metal rods, screws or plates.

If back pain is caused by degeneration of discs in your lumbar spine, your surgeon may recommend artificial disc replacement. In this procedure, the damaged disc is carefully removed from between two vertebrae and an artificial one is put in its place.

A lumbar discectomy may be performed when symptoms result from additional pressure on the spine due to the herniation of one or more lumbar discs. During this procedure, an opening is made in your spine to access the damaged disc. The disc, or portions of it, will then be removed.

The goal of any discectomy is to relieve spinal pressure and reduce the symptoms of disc herniation, such as leg pain, muscle weakness or numbness. Depending on your situation, your surgeon also may perform a laminectomy, laminotomy or lumbar fusion so you can more easily complete daily tasks and enjoy a more active lifestyle.

Also referred to as IPD, intraspinous process decompression is a new, minimally invasive procedure to relieve back pain and leg numbness for spinal stenosis patients. It is an alternative to spinal fusion or laminectomy.

During this procedure, you will be placed under general anesthesia or given a combination of sedative and local anesthesia. The neurosurgeon will make a small incision in your back to access your spine. Using a special tool, the doctor will create a space between the spinous processes — the knobby bones you can feel when you run your hands down your spine. A permanent implant is then inserted to maintain the larger space and relieve pressure.

Most patients can go home within 24 hours after IPD. The surgeon may recommend physical therapy to help you regain strength and mobility after surgery.

If you have spinal stenosis, your surgeon may suggest that you undergo a laminectomy. During this procedure, the lamina (part of the bone that makes up a vertebrae) or bone spurs that may have developed along your spine are carefully removed to make extra room for your spinal column. A foraminotomy or lumbar discectomy may be done at the same time to relieve additional pressure on spinal nerves.

Lumbar fusion is ideal for people with chronic low back pain who can’t find relief from medication or physical therapy. This surgery permanently fuses, or joins, two or more spinal vertebrae together to restrict movement using bone grafts or metal rods or plates. Lumbar fusion is most commonly used for individuals who have had injuries to bones in the spine or whose spine has weakened over time.