Spine-related conditions are one of the many reasons why people go to doctors, but many do not do so until their pain becomes so severe that it becomes a neurological issue.
According to experts, many common spine issues may even go untreated in their early stages, allowing reversible diseases to escalate to complex surgical operations.
Poor posture, long hours at work, or muscle strains are the most common causes of back and neck pain. While these disorders can exacerbate pain, persistent and worsening pain are usually suggestive of spinal damage. “Disc prolapse, spinal canal stenosis, degenerative disc disease, and spondylolisthesis are all progressive disorders that tend to start with minor symptoms including periodic pain, stiffness, and moderate radiation into the extremities,” said Dr Rahul Chaudhri, consultant spine surgeon, Manipal Hospital. “Most of the time, these minor symptoms are managed with painkillers without further investigation,” he added.
What are the most common misdiagnosed disorders?
According to Dr Chaudhri, lumbar disc herniation is one of the most commonly misdiagnosed disorders. This condition usually begins with back discomfort; if more nerves are crushed, the pain can spread to the legs, cause numbness, or lead to weakness. “Cervical spine diseases can begin with neck pain and tingling in the hands, progressing to loss of grip strength or balance difficulties. If the warning signs of nerve compression are neglected for an extended period, the nerve can continue to be damaged, making treatment less effective,” he said.
Spinal canal stenosis is another underdiagnosed condition, especially in elderly persons. Patients sometimes report feeling heavy in their legs, being unable to walk long distances, or experiencing relief while bending forward. Usually, these symptoms are wrongly linked to joint issues or aging.
“Because the earlier a patient receives care, the more probable it is that their condition won’t worsen to the point where surgery is necessary, patients who obtain prompt imaging and specialist assessments will generally avoid needing surgery. Surgical intervention is required when neurological impairments occur if traditional treatment approaches are unsuccessful,” said Dr Chaudhri.
Modern advancements in spine surgery make it possible to execute treatments that are safer and more precise than ever before.
What is a minimally invasive spinal surgery?
The key principles of minimally invasive spinal surgery are that the patient heals faster, there is less muscular injury, and there is less bleeding during the procedure when tiny incisions are used to decompress or release the nerves.
Disc decompression is another aspect of minimally invasive spine surgery. For instance, a Microdiscectomy can be performed on a patient whose nerves are squeezed due to disc protrusion, and a Laminectomy or Laminotomy can be used to decompress or release the nerves resulting from spinal stenosis. Spinal fixation and fusion surgery will straighten and stabilize a patient’s spine using implants made specifically for this purpose if the patient has a single degree of instability or considerable degenerative alterations.
When clinically necessary, early surgical intervention usually leads to considerable pain relief and a restoration to pre-injury functional levels. However, if surgery is delayed or not performed in the presence of prolonged nerve compression, intervention may only halt further deterioration rather than restore normal neurological function. In such cases, irreversible nerve damage occurs, leading to permanent neurological deficits.