Back Pain Explained

Back Pain explains what back pain is and how it can be treated and prevented.

Basic Anatomy:

• Back Pain Home
• Anatomy for Beginners
• Types of Pain
• Finding Acute Relief
• Intervertebral Disc
• The Spinal Ligaments
• The Sacrum
• The Vertebra

Causes of Back Pain:

• Backache
• Prolapsed Disc
• Sciatica
• Spinal Stenosis
• Scoliosis
• Spondylosis
• Spondylolisis
• Spondylolisthesis
• Sacroiliac Joint
• Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Piriformis Syndrome
• Coccydynia

Back Pain Exercises:

• Benefits of Exercise
• Simple Exercises
• Core Stability
• Swiss Ball

Proper Posture:

• How Good is Yours?
• Posture in Depth
• Sitting Posture
• Standing Posture

Types of Therapy:

• Complementary Therapy
• Massage
• Reflexology
• Acupuncture

Surgery For Back Pain:

• Introduction
• Laminectomy
• Lumbar Discectomy
• Nerve Root Block

Lumbar Discectomy

A lumbar discectomy is another common operation for low back pain due to a disc prolapase.

When you have a slipped disc in the back, the disc actually bulges out and presses onto the nerves that feed into your leg. This causes pain down the leg and is commonly known as sciatica.

The lumbar discectomy is a surgical solution for the problem and involves directly removing the part of the disc that is pressing onto the spinal nerves. Once removed, pressure on the nerve is release and the pain goes away.

In the diagram above of a disc bulge that presses onto a nerve, the red shaded area would be removed in a discectomy operation. Once removed, there would be nothing pushing onto the nerve that was previously squashed!

Usually, the operation is done with a normal discectomy and this involves a laminectomy procedure first. The laminectomy allows the protective bony arch to be removed so the offending disc can be seen. It allows easier access to the disc that is causing the pain.

With newer technology, it is now more common to have a micro-discectomy. This is essentially the same operation but using smaller surgical equipment and without the laminectomy procedure. Recovery is usually quicker as there is less trauma to the spine and soft tissues in the region.