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Surgery for Slipped DIsc
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Low back pain is one of the leading causes of work absence. Surgery is an option for this condition. New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that while back surgery may relieve pain faster, it may not be any better than conservative treatment in the long-term.
The spine has a series of disks that are located between the vertebrae. These act as shock absorbers. In the centre of the disk is a soft gel-like substance. This material can protrude into the the outer disk area and compress adjacent nerves. Patients with a herniated, or slipped, disc can have back pain, pain that radiates down the leg- called sciatica, or in rarer cases have weakness and numbness in the leg.
The research study randomly assigned 500 patients with herniated disc and sciatica to either surgery or more conservative treatment, which included medications, physical therapy and counseling.
While those who received surgery were more likely to report that their pain improved at an earlier stage, the long-term results showed that nearly 70% in both groups had a major improvement in their symptoms. It should be noted that the study results were difficult to interpret because there was a high degree of cross-over in the study groups; many who were assigned to surgery deferred it and many who were assigned to conservative treatment opted to have surgery instead.
This present study shows that both surgery and conservative treatment are viable options for those with disc herniation and sciatica.
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