How A Chronic Back Pain Can Benefit from Spinal Fusion Surgery
The main reason why some people are constantly having back pains is most probably got something to do with two or more spinal vertebrae that is moving in frictional pace against each other, such that the movement affects the nearby nerves, ligaments, and muscles, which altogether can result into so much discomfort and this is why when spinal surgeons see this situation, they would rather recommend for a spinal fusion surgery in order to correct the dilemma, thus joining two or more spinal vertebrae into one single structure and stopping the clashing movement between these bones. Generally, there are many causes that can are reasons for producing an uncomfortable back pain that is chronically felt and spinal surgeons need to determine accurately which among these causes is the main situation happening in the spinal column of the patient, before a spinal fusion surgery will be recommended; therefore, it would be good for the patient concerned to have a general knowledge of what these spinal causes are, such as the possibility of any of these: scoliosis, which is a genetic abnormality of the spinal column growing more on one side instead of on a straightforward direction; a degenerative spinal disease which results into the narrowing of the space between the spinal disks which can effect into a painful rubbing of the bones; a spine tumor; a narrowing of the spinal canal called spinal stenosis; or the abnormal shift of the spinal disk known as spondylolisthesis.
Spinal fusion is performed in two ways: by way of anterior lumbar inter-body fusion which means the surgeon starts operating through your belly or by posterior fusion where the surgeon starts from the back, and after making the incision, the muscles and other nearby organs are intentionally moved to the sides for the surgeon to see and inspect the spine where he removes the joints between the damaged spinal disks, then he connects the disks using surgical screws, rods, bone graft taken from another part of the body, usually from the hip or pelvis, and some doctors also include placing a bone morphogenetic protein into the damaged spine to stimulate bone growth. Knowing that in every surgery there is bound to be a risk, surgeons will need to explain the possible risks to their patients, which are bleeding, blood clots, infection, pain, risk from anesthesia, and other potential problems, like nerve injury resulting into numbness; if it is a bone donor, complications such as tissue rejection and infection may set in; and the worst could be if the spinal fusion does not work and the back pain may return.