Treatment of Spinal Injuries
Treatment generally includes conservative care (chiropractic or physical therapy) along with injections and oral anti-inflammatory medications to reduce inflammation around the nerves, which may be the cause of pain and restore overall range of motion. Injections can take the form of anesthetic to provide pain relief or steroidal to reduce localized inflammation.
If conservative treatment measures and injection therapy fail to alleviate the pain, a Surgeon may recommend surgical intervention. A common surgical procedure is known as decompression, wherein the Surgeon will remove disc material and tissue (and sometimes bone) that is placing pressure of the nerve root or spinal cord. The goal of a spinal decompression surgery is to remove or greatly reduce nerve impingement. To learn more about your rights, contact a back and neck injury lawyer for a free consultation today.
Two Most Common Decompression Surgeries
- Microdiscectomy – (also known as a microdecompression) is often utilized to treat leg pain caused by a herniated lumbar (back) disc that is causing leg pain. The leg pain caused by the herniated lumbar disc is commonly referred to a radiculopathy or sciatica.
- Lumbar laminectomy – this is a procedure to treat symptoms caused by lumbar spinal stenosis. Stenosis refers to the narrowing of the disc spaces and can be causes by a number of factors. Stenosis may be caused by the normal aging process in which the disc deteriorates over time and as fluid leaves a healthy disc, the disc itself becomes flatter and the space at such disc level decreases greatly. We also may see bone spurs intruding into the disc space due to the aging process. In turn, this often results in pressure upon the nerves. Stenosis may also be caused by trauma that can alter the spinal anatomy and lead to instability. In a laminectomy, the incision is much larger than a microdiscectomy. However, the procedures are very similar in that a piece of bone and or disc material impinging upon the nerve root will be removed in effort to create more space.
A fusion is when adjacent vertebrae are stabilized together to relieve or somewhat alleviate compression and chronic spine pain. In the case of the cervical spine, decompressions are often accompanied by a fusion of at least one-level due to the greater likelihood of instability of the neck compared to the back.
THIS ARTICLE IS IN NO WAY EXHAUSTIVE OF ALL PROCEDURES OR INJURIES OF THE SPINE THAT EXISTS. THIS IS SIMPLY AN OVERVIEW.
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These injuries aren't the limit, and some injuries not listed may be inflicted upon someone as the result of an accident, but no matter what your neck or back injury is, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible if you haven't already to prevent further damage, or even death. In the event that you were damaged in any way to due to someone else's negligence or lack of care, you may be entitled to compensation to cover not only the cost of the expensive medical treatment, but possibly lost wages and other damages.
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