Back pain, spinal arthritis and spine fusion surgery
Author: HealthbaseBut, this convenience comes with its share of baggage. Problems of the back are all too common, sometimes resulting from your lifestyle habits, sometimes caused by illnesses and injuries, and at other times due to other reasons. Treatment options for back pain range from conventional methods to surgical means. Read more about treatment options at Healthbase.
Your back and neck contain the spinal column or vertebral column which is made up of 33 individual bones called vertebrae and runs down from your skull to your pelvis. Between the vertebrae are circular pads of cartilage (connective tissue) called discs that are responsible for cushioning the vertebrae when you jump or run.
The 7 vertebrae at the top constitute the neck region or cervical spine
The next 5 vertebrae are the lower back or lumbar vertebrae
The lumbar region (low back) is where most of the pain is felt as it supports the weight of the upper body.
When you have a backache, the pain may originate from the muscles, nerves, bones, vertebral joints, discs or other structures in the spine or the spinal column.
Spinal osteoarthritis
In spinal osteoarthritis, the joints become inflamed and pain may be felt when performing even the simplest of activities like standing, sitting or walking. Over time, bone spurs i.e. small irregular growths on the bone, also called osteophytes, typically form on the vertebral joints and around the spinal vertebrae which may become so large as to cause irritation or entrapment of nerves passing through spinal structures and result in spinal stenosis (diminished room for the nerves to pass).
When stiffness and pain are in the lower spine (lumbar spine) and sacroiliac joint (between the spine and the pelvis), it is classified as lower back osteoarthritis or lumbosacral arthritis. When the stiffness and pain are in the upper spine, neck, shoulders, arms and head, it is classified as neck (cervical spine) osteoarthritis or cervical spondylosis.
The most common causes of spinal osteoarthritis are repetitive trauma to the spine from repetitive strains caused by accidents, surgery, sports injuries and poor posture. Other risk factors include aging, gender (more common in post-menopausal women), excess body weight, genetics, and associated diseases (like infections, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).
For spinal arthritis, the only effective surgical treatment is spine fusion surgery which stops motion at the painful joint. In fusion, one or more of the vertebrae of the spine are united (fused together) using bone grafts so that motion no longer occurs between them.
A fractured (broken) vertebra e.g. spondylolisthesis
pain from painful motion
some cervical disc herniations (fusion together with discectomy)
If you need a spine fusion surgery and are uninsured, check out the www.healthbase.com/hb/pages/medical-tourism.jsp medical tourism option that enables you to receive top quality surgery at a substantially discounted price.
About the Author:
About the author:The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects patients to high quality healthcare in USA and abroad for a fraction of the typical cost of care in US, Canada and UK.Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/back-pain-spinal-arthritis-and-spine-fusion-surgery-924777.html
