Has pain from an unexpected back injury brought your life to a sudden halt? Even a minor spinal injury can make normal, everyday activities difficult to impossible. Surgery isn’t always the best solution for every person. When it is, minimally invasive spinal surgery offers many benefits over traditional surgery.
Fewer Worries, Less Stress, Faster Recovery
In the past, spine surgery gave patients a lot more to worry about. Treating conditions like herniated discs and bone spurs required surgeons to decompress nerves, remove ligaments, and even remove sizable portions of the bones and joints. These techniques were highly disruptive and put the patient at a much greater risk of having additional damage to the spine. They also weakened the spine and increased the risk of future damage.
Minimally invasive surgery gives patients fewer worries. Surgeons use tiny incisions to make the necessary repairs to the spine. There is a lower risk of complications and a much faster recovery time. What many patients don’t realize is that reducing stress can make a big difference in their ability to recover. Stress reduces your body’s immunity and its ability to heal itself. Stress causes an increase in the production of cortisol, the “stress hormone” that interferes with wound healing–you become more vulnerable to infections and experience more pain. Minimally invasive spine surgery lowers your risk and gives you less to worry about.
Financial Benefits
Often, doctors will try other methods of treating a back injury before recommending surgery. Some types of back pain such as sciatica may last for a few months and then go away. In some people, however, the condition and the life-altering pain it causes will persist. If your back pain doesn’t respond to medication, physical therapy, or other methods of non-surgical treatment, your doctor might recommend surgery. He will determine if you are a good candidate for minimally invasive spinal surgery or if traditional open spine surgery is right for you.
A back injury can make it difficult or impossible to do your job while you undergo treatment. For some people, replacing a labor-intensive job with one considered light duty is a plausible solution. For others, simply sitting in a chair brings about severe pain. If you receive workers’ compensation or short-term disability for time off from work, you only receive a portion of your total salary. An extended leave from your job could even put your position in jeopardy for the future. At the same time, focusing on your financial and career worries can prevent you from getting the full benefit of your spine treatment. If you decide to put off treatment altogether, you could end up with a more severe injury that is more difficult and time consuming to treat.
Minimally invasive surgery is a good solution for some patients with certain spinal conditions. Not only does a faster process and recovery let you get back to what you enjoy faster, it helps you get back to your responsibilities. Minimally invasive spinal surgery is considered a more cost-effective procedure than traditional spine surgery. It costs less for medical treatment and minimizes the impact on your lifestyle.
Better Pain Relief
One of the main reasons you might be considering surgery is to alleviate your pain. No one knows how debilitating back pain can be until it happens to them. The last thing you want to do is undergo a procedure that only substitutes one type of pain for another. Post-surgical pain is one of the biggest concerns patients have. Minimally invasive spinal surgery results in less muscle damage and less postoperative pain.
Minimally invasive spinal surgery is also a good choice for people who don’t like to take pain medications or who don’t tolerate them well. Although keeping pain under control is an important part of the recovery process, most patients require nothing more than over-the-counter NSAIDs to alleviate their pain. Many patients report that their pain is gone immediately after the surgery. Don’t let your back pain control your life. Contact NewSouth NeuroSpine to schedule an appointment and find out if you are a candidate for minimally invasive spinal surgery. Our spine center offers comprehensive spinal treatment with a variety of treatment options to help you get back to living.
