2.4 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain according to the center for disease control. The costs incurred to treat back pain are approximately $75 billion either directly or indirectly. Back pain is common next to flue in America debilitating and results in loss of work and income.
Emotional and physical stress is experienced by an individual suffering from chronic back pain. It's the type of pain that can last for a lifetime, if surgical intervention is recommended by trained physicians. Pain killers, analgesics, and steroidal applications just help in suppressing the symptoms of this chronic condition. Laser laminectomy is the latest and most advanced procedure used to reduce the pain of chronic back pain sufferers. Laminectomy is a procedure which is performed on the vertebra which results in either a partial or complete removal of the lamina. Lamina is the wing like structure / part of the vertebra. Back bone is also called vertebrae in medical terms. The spinal cord traverses through the vertebra.
Patients suffering from severe back pain usually have a condition called spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis is a medical condition, where the spinal cord nerves are affected resulting in compression of the nerves. The common cause for spinal stenosis is injury, aging or a tumor. Surgical laminectomy was pioneered by Victor Alexander Haden Horsley in 1887. Laminectomy attempts to remove or partially shape the spinal disc to treat conditions like herniated disc.
The most common symptom for patients is chronic low back pain which results in immobility and a feeling of anguish. Currently, treatment of low lumbar back pain due to herniated discs is by surgery or use of pain killers. A invasive procedure is the recommended procedure to prevent suffering and emotional stress. The surgical procedure for the patient is done under general anesthesia. The patient is admitted to a hospital and under anesthesia a small incision is made at the back to perform laminectomy.
An alternate procedure to treat herniated discs and spinal stenosis is by Laser laminectomy. Herniated disc is also commonly referred to as "Slipped disc". Herniation of the disc occurs when inter vertebral disc bulges out and directly affects the nerves around the spine. This results in pain on the left and right side of the low back. The goal of surgical laminectomy is to remove the pressure on the nerves surrounding the spinal cord; this will relieve pain and allow for physical reduction of the protruding lamina. The patients who undergo laminectomy have a long recovery phase after surgery. This may involve pain medication, physical therapy and exercise.
Novel and minimally invasive laser laminectomy is a great approach towards treating patients suffering from back pain. Back pain is an ancient condition and can be traced back to ancient Egyptians and Greek times.
Laser laminectomy uses a laser beam to remove part of the nerve or lamina to relive pain in the back. Laser laminectomy can attempt this procedure for herniated discs which is minimally invasive. In surgical laminectomy the patient is put under Anastasia before the procedure is performed. The surgical option is invasive and expensive, has the risk for recurring back pain which may also latter affect the neck.
Treatment for back pain is complicated, costly and chronic. These three C's, plague Americans, especially the workforce in software research and development. American geriatric population is also affected by chronic back pain and alternative like laser laminectomy needs to be considered as potential treatments.
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