What Makes you a Candidate for Laser Spine Surgery?

If you have pain in your back or legs when you stand or walk for an extended, you may be a candidate for laser spine surgery. Although, there is a lot more to it than that. Laser spine surgery can treat many conditions, some of which can be self-diagnosed by doing a little research, but most conditions will need to be examined by a doctor after clinical evaluation. If you are unsure whether the symptoms you are experiencing are severe enough for laser spine surgery, here is a list of injuries that may make you a candidate.

Causes for Laser Spine Surgery

Herniated Disc

• Leg, foot, or hand numbness; tingling or burning; muscle weakness, or spasms; overactive reflexes; neck stiffness; pain in the back, arm, leg, or foot
• If it’s in your lower back, you will experience most of the pain in your buttocks, thigh or calf
• About 30 to 40 percent of people have a bulge or herniated disc in their spine but do not know about it. This is nothing to worry about unless you are experiencing symptoms relating to the disc.
• If you have a severe herniated disc, and have failed conservative treatment

Bone Spur

• Don’t always have symptoms
• If you see a pointed outgrowth in a bone
• Caused by local inflammation such as tendinitis or degenerative arthritis
• Develop from areas of the body that experienced an injury  to cartilage or tendons
• You will typically experience pain, numbness, and possibly weakness
• To find out if you have a bone spur, you can receive radiologic testing, including x-rays, ultrasound imaging, MRI scans, or Myelogram

Spinal Stenosis

• This does not always require a clinical evaluation. Typically takes a few minutes of talking with your doctor to evaluate the condition.
• Gets gradually worse over time
• Can typically tell by looking at an x-ray
• If you experience numbness, weakness, or tingling in your arm, hand, leg or foot
• Nerves to your bladder or bowels may be affected
• Compressed nerves in the lumbar spine which can cause pain or cramping in the legs when you stand or walk for long periods of time. Bending forward or sitting down usually helps the pain.
• Typically in older people
• Feel the need to constantly lean on things

Foraminal Narrowing

• Local pain
• Pain travels throughout the nerves path
• Numbness and tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Spasms and cramping

Facet Arthritis

• Symptoms are not always shown because facet arthritis generally causes mechanical pain
• Numbness and tingling
• Lower back pain, and can radiate down the leg
• Pain can be relieved by bending forward