Spinal surgery becomes inevitable when back pain cannot be managed with medications and/or exercise. This is a major decision and requires planning for many things before, during, and after the surgery.

Before a spinal surgery- This preparation will help in smooth recovery, especially if you do not have a full-time caretaker.

Discontinue pain killers: Discontinue pain killers at least 10 to 14 days before surgery. These are blood thinners and can prolong bleeding during the surgery.

Prepare for blood loss: Most people experience some blood loss, but not excessive.

Use a toilet seat raiser: Sitting and getting up from the toilet seat may be difficult. The seat raiser is used to increase the height, making this movement easy.

Enable easy access to common items: Before heading for the surgery, keep things which are commonly used within easy reach. This will help reduce movement and avoid searching (especially if someone else is going to be doing it).

Stock it up: Cooking may not be feasible during the initial postop period, and so it is advisable to stock up food items (ready to eats, fruits, soups, etc.) which will come in handy.

Slip-ons: Bending down and tying shoes may not be easy, so slip-ons can be used.

Caregiving: It is always advisable to have someone stay over with you during the initial postop days. They could help with regular household chores, cooking, etc.

Lifestyle changes: Ensure you eat well in the days before surgery, quit smoking, quit/use moderate amounts of alcohol, and exercise as advised by your surgeon.

After Surgery- Post surgery, there will be some pain and limitation of movement. It is important to understand that adherence to post-op instructions will improve the success rate of the surgery. Also, recovery time for spine surgery is slightly longer and affects overall quality of life, so psychological preparation is required.

Postoperative medications: These will be given to control infection and pain in the immediate postop period, and should be taken without fail

Rehab: The surgeon will recommend physical therapy and rehab exercises which need to be followed. Complete recovery may take anywhere between 3 to 12 months. During this time, care should be taken to avoid repeat injury.

Support: Adequate back support should be provided using lumbar support and ergonomic chairs, and the right posture should be maintained. Ensure there is no undue strain on the back muscles.

Weight management: With excess weight, there is too much strain on the lower disks. Therefore, weight should be managed to reduce this strain.

Smoking and alcohol should be completely stopped, as healing can be hampered.

With some preparation, spinal surgery can be sailed through smoothly.

What To Expect Before and After Spine Surgery?

Spine deformity refers to an abnormality of the shape, alignment, or formation of the vertebral column. The spine in the human body is composed of small bones or vertebrae, stacked on top of another. A healthy spine, typically, has gentle curvatures. A displacement or exaggeration of the spine leads to deformities.

Types of spine deformities:

The three major forms of spine curvature deformity are-

  Lordosis - Causes the lower back to turn inward
  Kyphosis - Leads to forward rounding of the back
  Scoliosis - Causes the spine to curve sideways

What are the causes of spine deformity?

The following conditions may cause the spine to be misaligned-

  Achondroplasia - A disorder, which impedes the normal growth of the bones, thereby resulting in short stature or dwarfism
  Spondylolisthesis - When the vertebrae in the lower back slip forward
  Osteoporosis - When the vertebrae become fragile and prone to fractures
  Scheuermann s disease - A developmental disorder of the spine that leads to abnormal growth of the upper back
  Spina bifida - A congenital disorder where the spinal column does not close completely while inside the womb

Symptoms associated with deformed spine:

Signs and symptoms of a deformed spine include-

  Uneven/misalignment of the shoulder and hips
  Uneven shoulder blades (one side is slightly higher than the other)
  Slight bending of the head over the body
  Difficulty in movement
  Discomfort and back pain

How is the condition treated?

The treatment of the condition depends on the severity of your spine deformity. Anti-inflammatory medications and drugs are prescribed to manage pain and discomfort associated with spine deformity/curvature. However, these cannot correct the deformity completely.

Severe cases of spine deformity need another line of treatment.

  Bracing - Back braces are recommended for children and adults alike, depending on the degree of curvature. This can help prevent the condition of your back from worsening.
  Body casting - The doctor places a cast that starts from the shoulders and goes all the way down to the lower trunk. This provides adequate support to the spine and strengthens the back.
  Spinal instrumentation - The surgeon will attach instruments like rods, hooks, and wires to the spine to keep the bones aligned following a spinal fusion.
  Artificial disc replacement - The surgeon replaces degenerated discs in the spine with artificial devices.
  Kyphoplasty - The surgeon inserts a balloon into the spine to stabilize and realign the deformed spine and relieve you from the pain.

Following the treatment, patients with spine deformity are usually advised to go for physiotherapy sessions. Physical therapy and exercise can help you build muscle strength and increase flexibility.

Deformity of the spine is a difficult condition to live with. Not only does it restricts your normal movement but also places you at risk of other musculoskeletal disorders. Therefore, it is imperative that you get the condition treated by a specialist.

Spine Deformity - Everything You Should Know!

A spinal disk has a soft, jellylike centre (nucleus) encased in a tougher, rubbery exterior (annulus). Sometimes called a slipped disk or a ruptured disk, a herniated disk occurs when some of the nucleus pushes out through a tear in the annulus.A herniated disk, which can occur in any part of the spine, can irritate a nearby nerve. Depending on where the herniated disk is, it can result in pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg. Many people have no symptoms from a herniated disk. Surgery is usually not necessary to relieve the problem.

Discs uni formally distribute the body weight. It has got three-part the disc plate, nucleus and fibrous. Because of some undue pressure at a particular part of the disc, some or all cartilage fibres rupture and the nucleus bulges out. In advanced grade, this bulged out part may compress a corresponding nerve root. Due to compression, patients may experience radiating pain in the legs.

The most common site of a disc bulge is between L4-5 and L5-S1.
Through holistic corrective programme bulged out part retracts back leaving the pressure on the nerve.
The treatment has become successful because of unique muscle spasm release techniques and spinal decompression.
The disc is 84% gelatinous with the water-absorbing property. On decompression, it swells up and bulged out part retracts back and leaves the pressure on the nerve root.
As a final result, patients get complete relief in pain in the leg and also low back pain is permanently relieved.
This is the best-known treatment to date. According to a study done at KBMS Institute, more than 85% of patients get quick and permanent relief through this Holistic Corrective Programme (HCP).

Spinal Disc Problems - Know How To Deal With Them!

Several spine-related problems like cervical spondylysis, lumbar spondylysis, prolapse of intervertebral disc, spinal stenosis, sciatica are most common among the people aging from 30 to 65+. They are very common among women also, especially after menopause.

Nowadays, these spine problems are very common because of our unhealthy lifestyle. Now in this modern era, our life has become very unhealthy. It's very sedentary. We don t walk, we sit in one place and one position for long hours. There is no laborious activity to our body.  We travel a lot on moped, bikes and cars. Our nutritious value of food has gone down.

Traditional medicines deal with the above discussed problems initially with painkillers, multivitamins and combinations of minerals. If there is no improvement traction, cervical belt or lumbar belt is suggested. Still if there is no improvement, the patient is asked to go for surgery. 

These problems cannot be solved only with yoga, or any kind of exercises or acupuncture, etc. They require very definite approach of treatment. 

Homoeopathy has very definite approach to a spine problem. In homoeopathy, the patient is first given a consultation in which he is asked only 5 questions which are enough to understand the symptoms related to the spine problem and symptoms related to the patients personality.

When this is done, the derived information is matched with the hundreds of homoeopathic medicines and the exactly indicated medicine is prescribed after determining the needs of the patient. Usually, the patient gets about 40 per cent relief in the first month and 40 per cent more in the next month. It is worth mentioning that any spine related problem is fully curable in about 5-6 months of homeopathic treatment.

Four effective exercise are recommended.

Here are some remedies that are also suggested to heal spinal issues:

One fist of coriander
5 leaves of kaddi patta with both the meals
Recipes prepared from sesame
Patients, who can have non-veg, can have soup prepared of goat's leg atleast twice a week
In the above way, patients can get rid of all painkillers and dangerous surgeries and can get cured to enjoy there life peacefully.

Spine Problems & Homeopathy!

The spinal cord is indispensable to your body. It supports your head, keeps your posture erect, and helps you walk. Ailments of the spine are extremely painful to remedy and throw a lot of your other organs in trouble as well. Therefore, it follows that you should take the best care of your spine possible.

While there are a number of ways you can do that, some stand out from the rest. They are:

  Do your exercises properly: there are umpteen ways you can work out and get results that are harmful to your spine. You may easily lift something too heavy for your constitution, or the angle at which the object is placed may be too high for all your muscles to coordinate and work properly. Be aware, and avoid these mistakes. If you feel like the object is too heavy, refrain from lifting it. Even when lifting, make it such that the muscles of your lower body have to do the maximum work.

  Move on: Physical movement is the first commandment of having your spine fit and in a peak condition. This movement can be trivial and every day, like daily walks in the park or going to walk your pet. However, a sustained movement like that is very important, combined with stretching or aerobic exercises.

  Work smart: There are several ways you can avoid injuring your spine at the workplace. You should choose a chair that is adjusted according to your height and supports your lower back well. Your feet should be able to reach the floor properly and well. You should also avoid unhealthy conveniences like holding your phone between your ear and shoulders to keep your hands free.

  Go for daily checks: You should keep daily tabs on what is happening to your spine. Go for daily checks, and immediately check with your doctor if you experience symptoms like back pain without any evident disease, or if discomfort persists even after medication.

The spine is integral to the proper functioning of your whole body, and shouldn t be ignored even for a day. There are exercises you can do to keep it in good shape, and those that you can avoid. There are also triggers after which you should check with your doctor as well. Here s wishing you good spinal health.

The spine is an integral part!

Ways To Keep Your Spine Happy!

Extramedullary intradural tumours are a rarity. Of all the tumours of the nervous system, fewer than 15% are of the spine. And around 45% of them are intradural. And 40% of intradural tumours are extramedullary.

What are some common Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumours? 

Some forms of intradural extramedullary spinal tumours are-

Schwannomas

Meningiomas

Gliomas

Neurofibromas

What are the Symptoms of Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumours?

Some symptoms of this condition are-

Back pain

Cramps

Loss of feeling along the back

Loss of spinal flexibility

Weakness of the limbs

Slight degrees of paralysis

Hunched-over spine

If treatment is not sought immediately, the effect of the tumours would penetrate all levels of the spine and may lead to complete paralysis.

How are Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumours diagnosed?

A basic physical examination will reveal that there are tumours on the spine. Before treatment commences, the person will have to opt for these tests-

An MRI scan

A CT scan

X-rays

biopsy

Treatment of Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumours diagnosed?

Doctors do not usually suggest surgery right away. They will first try to vanquish the tumours with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Sometimes a combination of both might be required.

If therapy does not work, surgery will be suggested. During the surgery, resection is done with the aim to assuage pain and stabilize the spine. Preoperative embolization is performed. A catheter is inserted into a vessel of the groin and directed to the tumour. Then a glue-like agent is administered to the vessels that carry blood to the tumour. When this supply is cut off, the tumour will shrink.

After the surgery, a person will be required to stay on in the hospital for a couple of weeks after which rehabilitation may be required to help the patient get back to a normal lifestyle.

Spinal tumours can be fatal. That is why it is important to pay heed to the symptoms and consult a doctor right away.

Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumour - In Depth!

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