Early diagnosis is important in spinal diseases

Özel Sağlık Hospital Brain and Nerve Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Serkan Zengin stated that lumbar spinal stenosis manifests itself with pain in the lower back and legs due to reasons such as walking long distances or standing for long periods.

Providing information about the disease, Zengin said, “Lumbar spinal stenosis (Lumbar spinal stenosis) can be caused by the narrowing of the channels through which the spinal cord and nerves pass, as a result of the discs losing their fluid content as age progresses, which reduces the support they provide to the vertebrae and causes them to shift and compress these channels. Another reason is the narrowing of the channel through which the spinal cord and nerves pass as a result of the growth of joints in the structure of the spine. While it may not show signs and symptoms in every patient, in advanced lumbar spinal stenosis, it can cause lower back and back pain, pain, numbness and cramps in the legs, and very rarely, bowel and bladder disorders,” he said.

NON-SURGICAL SOLUTIONS PROVIDE BENEFITS IN THE EARLY STAGE

Noting that treatment yields more successful results with early diagnosis, Zengin said, “Similar symptoms such as lower back pain or leg pain and numbness may occur with long-distance walking or standing. A patient in this condition may find temporary relief by sitting, bending, or squatting. The diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis can be made through the patient's history taken by the physician, physical examination, and radiological imaging methods such as X-ray, tomography, or MRI. The chance of the disease improving with medication and follow-up methods in treatment is quite high. Medical and physical therapy methods yield successful results in nearly 80 percent of patients. Here, early diagnosis significantly increases treatment success.

In the early stage, muscle pain, lower back, neck, and spinal diseases can be treated to a large extent without the need for surgical intervention. Along with medication and physical therapy, treatments such as radiofrequency ablation and targeted nucleoplasty also provide benefits in the early period and are quite effective in the patient's recovery without surgery. In patients with advanced narrowing and severe pain, if no response is obtained from 3-6 months of medical treatment, a surgical treatment method can be applied,” he stated.

SURGICAL TREATMENT METHOD

Providing information about the operation, Zengin said, “In surgical treatment, an operation is planned according to the person's level of disease. During the operation, our control mechanism is completed in the operating room by taking a tomography. This high technology, combined with experienced hands, can reduce the risk of complications to a level close to zero. If there is compression and bone narrowing at different levels, the growing bone tissue is reduced, the spinal canal diameter is widened to reduce the pressure on the compressed nerves, and the spine is stabilized with platinum. The platinum implants fuse with the bone within 6 weeks after the surgery. Thus, the spine can continue its load-bearing function. After the surgery, the patient is usually discharged within 2 days. After the operation, the patient must protect themselves from movements that strain the lower back, lifting heavy objects, and impacts,” he said.

News Source: 12punto