Back pain is one of the most common body ache problems causing 8 out of 10 people to experience back ache once in their lifetime. Although in many cases back pain may not cause serious health conditions, some can be very serious and may lead to an orthopaedic surgery. The problem with back pain is that unless you see a professional, it may be hard to identify whether you need a surgery or not. This is because both serious and non-serious back aches sometimes share the same symptoms.
Heavy lifting, menstruation periods, obesity, poor posture (both sitting and standing), arthritis and old age are some reasons for back pain. However, the same shooting pain felt in all these causes can be felt in almost all back pain conditions, minor or not. Minor back pain can be helped with a massage, pain killers or exercises. Although the wisest step to take in order to determine whether your condition will need surgery is to see an orthopaedic surgeon, there are some situations that you can look out for in a back pain condition that will require surgery.
If you have a spinal fracture
Spinal fractures are mainly caused by osteoporosis. To treat them, a surgical procedure called vertebroplasty is performed to stabilise the spinal fracture. During the process, bone cement is inserted into the holes of the structure to hold the spine tight.
If you have a tumour in your spine
If you have been diagnosed with a tumour in your spine, surgery is of course needed. With time, if the tumour is not removed, your back may completely become numb. To remove a spinal tumour, orthopaedic surgeons carry out a delicate surgery but not in all cases will the tumour be completely removed. If part of the tumour has remained, a radiation or chemotherapy therapy is done after the surgery in order to completely wipe the tumour away.
If you lose control over your bladder
If you experience this symptom, you might be suffering from cauda equina syndrome, a condition caused by a compression of the nerve sac in the spine. An Immediate surgery is required.
Numbness in your back, legs, and arms
This symptom will usually appear along with losing control of the bladder. But it can sometimes be due to a condition called sciatica. Sciatica is a condition that affects the sciatic nerve. A patient suffering from back pain due to sciatica will also experience pain extending to the hips and butt. A surgery is needed to fix the bone spur.
Share