When is surgery necessary for lower back pain?

When is surgery necessary for lower back pain?

Surgery may be considered for severe lower back pain that does not get better after a 6 to12-week course of nonsurgical treatments. It is almost always the patient’s decision to have back surgery, and only in rare situations is immediate surgery performed for low back pain.

What type of back pain requires surgery?

Reasons You May Need Back Surgery Bone spurs in your spine (these are often caused by arthritis) that are putting pressure on your spinal cord. A degenerative spinal condition like stenosis (narrowing of the protective bony canal around the spinal cord) that’s causing side effects, like weakness.

What conditions need back surgery?

Below are some of the conditions that may warrant back surgery:

• A slipped disk that doesn’t correct itself.
• Bone spurs or bone overgrowth in the spine.
• Degenerative spinal problems, such as stenosis, that cause pain and weakness.
• A broken or dislocated bone.
• Spinal infection.
• Spinal cord tumor.

When is spine surgery necessary?

We see unstable spines in a lot of conditions including spinal fractures, spondylolisthesis, and even sometimes an extreme disc injury. Surgery is often required if symptoms progress to intractable back pain, leg pain, or significant neurologic problems from a pinched nerve.

When Is back surgery urgent?

In most cases, you don’t need surgery for low back pain. But in rare cases, severe back pain can be a sign of cauda equina syndrome (CES), a condition that usually requires urgent surgical treatment. People with cauda equina syndrome often are admitted to a hospital as a medical emergency.

Is there an age limit for back surgery?

Lumbar spine surgery in patients 85 years and older can be accomplished safely if careful attention is paid to preoperative selection. Prolonged operative times are associated with a higher risk of complications.

Can barely walk lower back pain?

Lumbar spinal stenosis Spinal stenosis often occurs in the lower part of the back, or lumbar spine, where it can lead to lower back pain when walking or standing. People often find that this pain improves with sitting down or leaning forward. Other symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis can include: weakness in the legs.

How many hours does back surgery take?

can take as little as 2 hours, and as long as 6 or 7 hours, occasionally even longer. How long it takes depends on the number of vertebrae being fused, how badly the vertebrae are diseased, whether spinal nerves are pinched and need to be decompressed, and whether there is scarring from prior surgeries.

What is the recovery time from back surgery?

It will take about 4 to 6 weeks for you to reach your expected level of mobility and function (this will depend on the severity of your condition and symptoms before the operation). When you wake up after lumbar decompression surgery, your back may feel sore and you’ll probably be attached to 1 or more tubes.