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Saturday, November 6, 2010

Various Spine Treatment Options

There are various spine treatment options available to treat people who have undergone a spine injury, or have continuous back pain. The options include surgery, decompression therapy, physical therapy, spine injections, spinal manipulation and medication.
1. Spine surgery is generally resorted to as a last resort when the pain does not respond to other treatment options and in emergencies. There are different operations performed to treat different types of spine injury.
Disectomy is surgery where a part of a disc is removed while foramenotomy helps in providing relief from nerve pressure. Laminectomy helps in providing relief from spinal pressure whilespinal fusion surgery stops any motion in between vertebrae. Another spine surgical option is spine disc replacement where a disc is replaced for relief from pain.
2. In case of decompression therapy, the intervertebral discs are decompressed using a pelvic and thoracic harness while lying on a computerized table. In a typical case, the patient will have to undergo 20 such treatments over a span of seven weeks to experience relief from pain.
3. With physical therapy, the therapist uses heat or ice packs for relief from pain. They may also use lontophoresis where a small electric charge delivers medication through the skin to the bone to treat the pain. In some cases, the therapist may suggest some stretching, light aerobics or strengthening exercises to help treat the condition.
4. While spine injections help diagnose pain, spinal injections like epidural steroidal injection to the lower and injections to the sacroiliac or facet joints help reduce pain. The different injections serve different purposes to reduce spine pain.
5. With spinal manipulation, the chiropractor uses slow pressure or twisting or rapid movements to make adjustments to the head, shoulders, hips and to promote healing. Sometimes, the patient may require some heat, electrical current or ultrasound for spine relaxation before the adjustment.
6. Medication does not actually stop spine injury; however it does reduce pain. Aspirin or acetaminophen reduces minor pain while non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen reduces pain by blocking joint inflammation. Sometimes narcotic pain medications like morphine or muscle relaxants are prescribed to reduce pain.
It is based on the extent of spine injury and the amount of pain that the patient experiences that the doctor decides on the best spinal treatment option to use to treat pain.
Houston Spine Surgeon of Houston offers a full range of diagnostic and spine treatment services for back pain and spinal disorders. The Spine Center of Houston is at the leading edge of minimally invasive spine surgery.

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