lower back pain
experts estimate that nearly eighty five percent of americans will suffer from it at some point
though pain in the lower back or lumbar region occurs for many reasons one of
the most common causes is a herniated disc
the low back otherwise known as the lumbar spine is a crucial part of your back because its a lower
structure that helps support us
when we are sitting or standing throughout the day
the disc is sandwiched inbetween
two vertebra
the disc is the shock absorber spine
it absorbs impact when you jump up and down it allows you to move to rotate the reason
why it's important to have the disc in between the lumbar spine is that when
a disc degenerates
it can degenerate enough where there is less space for the nerves
so not only do you get back pain but you can also get nerve pain which goes down to the legs
that can create a lot of problems because you can have leg pain that can lead to weakness and an
inability to do the daily activities
ruptured or herniated discs can be the result of overuse injury or aging
disc degeneration can certainly be caused by genetics a large portion of that but it can also
because of environmental factors
we found that vibration can create disc degeneration because the constant
loading and unloading of the disc can create an environment with the
disc degenerates more easily
even traumatic injuries were falls from height or = jumping off of the ski jump
those can create disc degeneration also
even something trivial or small such as a small slip that may cause initially a
herniation or a disc bulge
can create a disc that is more susceptible to injury down the road
if there's an injury to the disc
it doesn't heal
so injuries are permanent and accumulate
treatment options vary depending on the severity of the tear in the disc
according to doctors about eighty percent of cases can be treated by
conservative or non operative therapies however for those patients who require
surgery
there is an advanced new procedure
called transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion or TLIF
it's a mouthful
which really means that you're doing a fusion of both the front of the spine
and the back of the spine through a very small incision in the center of the spine
what it does is it allows the two vertebral bodies which are moving painfully
together to become one piece of bone so it eliminates the pain
because transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions are minimally invasive
they may present less risk to patients and study shows that TLIF procedures
had the highest fusion success rate three years ago i was able to run and
as we came to two years i was only able to walk and then as we
came to the last year wasnt able to do any exercise be physical ski
or even enjoy some of the normal things i'd like to do in life this
procedure that we called the TLIF
is a procedure that heals remarkably well and very quickly normally within
four to six months you have an absolute solid fusion and you can go out and play
golf
you can go back and bungee jump and rollerblade pole vault do all those
other wonderful things you want to do
my recovery has taken about six months
four to six months after two months or so you feel really strong almost feel like
a normal person again and it only gets better from that point forward
the success rate for a TLIF
for back pain is on the order of about ninety percent
for two-thirds relief of pain
so patients who get this procedure
are normally quite happy once the fusion become solid
before undergoing TLIF or any spinal surgery
experts stress the need for a thorough diagnostic evaluation and advise back
pain sufferers to consult a spinal specialist we always try to stress to the patients
we need to find where the pain is coming from
because if you dont know where the pain is coming from you can't treat it
i think the most significant way to do that is selective injections diagnostic tests
such as an MRI or even a CT scan
and certainly a good therapy session can be helpful back pain
had pretty much cut-out all my activity and i'd had maxed out on pain
pills and seen a physical therapist
have tried accupuncture tried steroid shots
and i still was at the point where i had
pain most of the time
if lower back pain is keeping you from enjoying an active lifestyle
let the experts at the steadman hawkins clinic help stop your suffering at the
point where my pain
overtook my life i consulted my physician about what were my choices
he suggested steadman hawkins the steadman hawkins clinic provides thorough
diagnostic services and their highly experienced team of physicians will find
the right treatment option for you
we have a very comprehensive range of services that we offer at steadman hawkins
it includes non operative care
injections therapy aquatics even surgical care for the people who need that
my fusion surgery resulted in fact that i have no pain
whatsoever anymore
and the promise of going back to an extremely active life specializing in
orthopedics and sports medicine the goal of the steadman hawkins clinic is to help
each client reach optimum recovery
by providing the highest level of care and personal attention
the clinic is very accessible and was very easy to get to and
course they re world renowned for their successes orthopedically
my experience here was exceptional
my hospital care
the surgeons care the
PA's care
everything was exceptional
for unparalleled expertise and committ to care choose the vail spine
institute at the steadman clinic in vail colorado