Sciatica can be a very painful condition that has the ability to affect your entire lower body. There are several ways to combat the pain of sciatica, and one of those options is surgery.
Identification
The sciatic nerve is one of the largest nerves in the human body. It runs down the spine, and then branches off down each leg. Sciatica is a condition that develops when pressure is placed on that nerve, and pain radiates throughout the lower back and down one or both legs.
Pressure can be applied by a disc in the spine protruding out and pressing on the sciatic nerve, or the nerve can be pinched between two bones either in the spine or in the hip.
In most cases of sciatica, the pain is found to go beyond the knee and toward the ankle.
Types
One surgical procedure that is used to help relieve the pain of sciatica is called a laminectomy. This is a procedure that is used when a bone from the spine is putting pressure on the sciatic nerve and causing pain. In this surgery, the portion of the bone that is causing the pressure is removed. The surgeon may choose to fuse skeletal regions of the spine together to complete the operation, or he may choose to remove a part of the disc. The purpose is to make room for the nerve to be able to function normally.
A similar procedure is performed if it is determined that spinal stenosis, or a narrowing of the nerve ducts in the spine, is causing the pain on the sciatic nerve. In this case, the portion of the skeletal region of the spine that has narrowed is removed.
Potential
In some cases the portion of the disc in the spine that is causing the pressure and the pain can be dealt with by using a less invasive form of surgery known as a microdiscectomy.
In this procedure, the surgeon uses small incisions in the back to reach and treat the affected area. This procedure is only recommended to be used on very small disc protrusions. Larger disc issues are treated with more invasive surgical means.
For larger disc issues that require more disc to be removed, a surgeon may choose to do a procedure called a discectomy. This is a more invasive procedure that removes a much larger portion of the damaged disc.
History
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, surgical procedures to help relieve sciatica used to be much more involved and risky.
The differences in surgical procedures, and the advances in medical science over the past three decades, have allowed back surgery to advance from a condition that required a large incision and a great deal of recovery time to a procedure that can be done using small incisions and requiring significantly less in-hospital convalescence.
Considerations
Surgery is not used as a primary means of relieving the pain caused by sciatica. Doctors will attempt methods such as physical therapy and bed rest before they will consider using surgery.
When surgery is performed on patients suffering from sciatica, it has been found to be successful at reducing or eliminating the pain.
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