Educate Yourself About Spinal Stenosis Before You Have the Condition Surgically Treated
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J Soland
Jun 5, 2013, 3:24:03 PM6/5/13
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Article Title: Educate Yourself About Spinal Stenosis Before You Have the Condition Surgically Treated
Author: J Soland
Word Count: 564
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1844696&ca=Medicines+and+Remedies
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1844696
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1844696
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If your physician has advised you to undergo an operation for spinal stenosis, you may not have given his or her opinion a second thought. Before you agree to go under the knife, do yourself a favor and be an advocate for your own health. Learn as much as you can about the condition and its various treatment methods, and don�t be afraid to receive a second � or even a third � opinion.
Understanding the Condition
It�s surprising how many patients consent to operations with little concept of what it is that the surgeon will be attempting to correct. So, what is spinal stenosis? It�s a narrowing of the spinal canal, which is the space that houses the spinal cord.
The spinal canal is formed by the large openings in the centers of the vertebrae, which are the bone structures that make up the �backbone.� Nerves branch from the spinal cord, pass through small openings on the sides of the vertebrae, and run throughout the body to relay sensory and motor messages from the brain. Intervertebral discs are located between articulating vertebrae and act as shock absorbers to lessen the impact that�s placed on the vertebrae. These spinal components (and many others that haven�t been mentioned) are all susceptible to damage, especially as a result of the natural aging process. When these components become inflamed, dislocated, or otherwise damaged, they can invade the spinal canal, causing spinal stenosis.
Many patients who suffer from spinal stenosis experience no symptoms at all. This is typically because a neural structure has not been affected despite the canal being narrowed. When neural compression does occur, though, patients can experience localized pain as well as numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and radiating pain throughout the areas of the body that are controlled by the affected nerve.
Compression in the cervical spine can cause symptoms in the head, neck, upper back, arms, and/or hands, while compression in the lumbar spine can lead to discomfort in the lower back, hips, buttocks, legs, and/or feet.
The Surgical Process
Because spinal stenosis can have many causes, there can also be many surgical approaches to treat the condition. For the sake of simplicity, let�s assume that a patient�s spinal stenosis has been caused by a herniated disc. The surgeon would decompress the affected neural structure by:
- Making a large incision in the neck or back
- Dissecting musculature and soft tissues to gain access to the spine
- Removing the affected disc
- Inserting an intervertebral cage into the space once occupied by the affected disc
- Injecting the cage with bone graft material
- Using surgical hardware to fuse the cage and adjacent vertebrae together
Following this type of operation, you can expect to stay in the hospital for at least several nights and should anticipate an arduous rehabilitation.
Explore Your Options
Some patients are candidates for minimally invasive procedures as an alternative to open neck or back operations for spinal stenosis. Ask your physician about these procedures and find out if you�re a candidate. Don�t forget to seek a second opinion before you consent to any type of surgical procedure.
About The Author: John Soland is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications and is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including patient education and advocacy. http://www.healthgrades.com/group-directory/pennsylvania-pa/wayne/laser-spine-institute-9961d422
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1844696
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
J Soland
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1844696
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1844696
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: Educate Yourself About Spinal Stenosis Before You Have the Condition Surgically Treated
Author: J Soland
Word Count: 564
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=1844696&ca=Medicines+and+Remedies
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=1844696
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1844696
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
If your physician has advised you to undergo an operation for spinal stenosis, you may not have given his or her opinion a second thought. Before you agree to go under the knife, do yourself a favor and be an advocate for your own health. Learn as much as you can about the condition and its various treatment methods, and don�t be afraid to receive a second � or even a third � opinion.
Understanding the Condition
It�s surprising how many patients consent to operations with little concept of what it is that the surgeon will be attempting to correct. So, what is spinal stenosis? It�s a narrowing of the spinal canal, which is the space that houses the spinal cord.
The spinal canal is formed by the large openings in the centers of the vertebrae, which are the bone structures that make up the �backbone.� Nerves branch from the spinal cord, pass through small openings on the sides of the vertebrae, and run throughout the body to relay sensory and motor messages from the brain. Intervertebral discs are located between articulating vertebrae and act as shock absorbers to lessen the impact that�s placed on the vertebrae. These spinal components (and many others that haven�t been mentioned) are all susceptible to damage, especially as a result of the natural aging process. When these components become inflamed, dislocated, or otherwise damaged, they can invade the spinal canal, causing spinal stenosis.
Many patients who suffer from spinal stenosis experience no symptoms at all. This is typically because a neural structure has not been affected despite the canal being narrowed. When neural compression does occur, though, patients can experience localized pain as well as numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and radiating pain throughout the areas of the body that are controlled by the affected nerve.
Compression in the cervical spine can cause symptoms in the head, neck, upper back, arms, and/or hands, while compression in the lumbar spine can lead to discomfort in the lower back, hips, buttocks, legs, and/or feet.
The Surgical Process
Because spinal stenosis can have many causes, there can also be many surgical approaches to treat the condition. For the sake of simplicity, let�s assume that a patient�s spinal stenosis has been caused by a herniated disc. The surgeon would decompress the affected neural structure by:
- Making a large incision in the neck or back
- Dissecting musculature and soft tissues to gain access to the spine
- Removing the affected disc
- Inserting an intervertebral cage into the space once occupied by the affected disc
- Injecting the cage with bone graft material
- Using surgical hardware to fuse the cage and adjacent vertebrae together
Following this type of operation, you can expect to stay in the hospital for at least several nights and should anticipate an arduous rehabilitation.
Explore Your Options
Some patients are candidates for minimally invasive procedures as an alternative to open neck or back operations for spinal stenosis. Ask your physician about these procedures and find out if you�re a candidate. Don�t forget to seek a second opinion before you consent to any type of surgical procedure.
About The Author: John Soland is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications and is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including patient education and advocacy. http://www.healthgrades.com/group-directory/pennsylvania-pa/wayne/laser-spine-institute-9961d422
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=1844696
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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