Low back pain: symptoms & causes.
Each year, more than 65 million Americans suffer with low back pain and related symptoms. Many of these cases can be attributed to compression or irritation of a nerve root in the lumbar spine. For mild to moderate symptoms, the cause is typically a bulging disc. A disc rupture, lumbar stenosis, spondylosis and spondylolisthesis can each cause severe back pain, leg pain, neurogenic claudication, weakness, numbness and changes in reflexes.
Diagnosis.
Medical history and physical examination usually show symptoms to be lumbar-related. Imaging tests, especially MRI, are needed to diagnose the specific cause of the radiculopathy.
Treatment.
As many as 90% of low back pain cases can be successfully treated with conservative therapies. These include anti-inflammatory medications, physical therapy, exercise and nonsurgical interventions. But for cases where nonsurgical treatments fail to provide relief and there is identifiable nerve compression, surgical intervention is beneficial and often necessary.
Surgical treatment.
At Comprehensive Neurosurgery, Dr. E. Thomas Cullom, III performs a variety of time-tested and leading-edge lumbar surgeries, including:
Microdiscectomy – Dr. Cullom can remove part or all of a degenerated disc through a tiny incision for minimal surgical impact.
Lumbar interbody fusion – Dr. Cullom removes the intervertebral disc, eliminating the pressure on the spinal cord, and uses bone graft to fuse the lumbar discs together.
Posterior instrumentation – In combination with interbody fusion, Dr. Cullom can restore improved posture and balance to a deformed spine using a stabilizing framework (“instrumentation”).
Decompressive laminectomy/laminotomy – Removing all or part of a lumbar vertebra’s lamina can remove pressure on nerve structures. May or may not be done in combination with fusion or discectomy.
Corpectomy – In some cases, Dr. Cullom relieves pressure on the spinal cord by removing part of the vertebra itself.
Please visit our interactive Patient Education Library to learn more about lumbar spine pain and treatments.
Trust an experienced, dedicated spine specialist.
A board-certified neurosurgeon with more than 15 years’ experience, Dr. Cullom has performed numerous surgeries of the lumbar spine. Today, he is known not just for his surgical talent and knowledge but also for being dedicated, uniquely compassionate and personally invested in your best surgical results.
If you or someone you know is suffering with low back pain or symptoms related to lumbar problems, get complete and appropriate treatment. Call Comprehensive Neurosurgery today at (601) 664-1000. We are conveniently located in Flowood just outside Jackson, Forest, Mississippi.