Herniated Disc Surgery

Herniated disc surgery can be a very scary thing to consider, especially because of all the conflicting information available.  There are definitely some instances where surgery for a herniated disc is required, but more often than not, this is not the case.

In fact, most of the research available today indicates that the success rate of herniated disc surgery is very low, and rarely provides long-term relief (in most cases, the pain returns within 5 years).  

This article will discuss the different options available for herniated disc surgery, but before we cover that, we need to discuss what a herniated disc is.

The discs of the spine are cushions that separate each set of bones in the back.  Their primary purpose is to act as shock-absorbers, protecting the vertebrae from excessive wear and tear with movement.

Each disc is composed of a strong outer covering called the annulus, and a soft jelly center called the nucleus.  In the case of a herniated disc, the outer covering becomes weak and tears.  This leads to the jelly to shift from the center of the disc into the area of weakness, which causes the disc to bulge.

The most serious complication of this condition is that the spinal nerves are located directly behind each disc of the spine, which is where the disc will tend to bulge if it is damaged.  Because of this, the herniated disc will tend to apply pressure on a nerve, which can cause a great deal of pain and disability.

In fact, an interesting fact about the discs of the spine that you may not be aware of is that they are not able to feel pain sensations.  This may sound crazy to you at first, because as you know, this can be a very painful condition to live with.

But if you think about it, it makes sense that a disc wouldn’t feel pain, because they are absorbing shock all day.  If they could feel pain, you would be hurting all day long, with every movement you make!

So, what actually causes the pain in the case of a herniated disc?  It’s actually the pressure on the affected nerve.  Even more important than the pain, though, is the other parts of the body that can be affected by this condition.

Because the spinal nerves control everything in the body, pressure on a nerve will cause the part of the body being controlled by that nerve to stop functioning normally.  

A good example of this would be a herniated disc in the lower back.  The nerves that would be affected here control the legs, so it’s very common for a person with this condition to experience pain traveling down the legs, as well as weakness in the legs.

I’ve even seen cases where the pressure on the nerves in the low back becomes so intense that a person literally drops to their knees because they’ve lost so much strength in their legs.

Now, before we discuss the different types of herniated disc surgery available, let me just say one thing, because people often ask if there is a way for them to tell if surgery is their only option, and there is.

There are only a couple of circumstances that actually require surgery immediately.  The first is if you have a herniated disc in your low back, and you are losing control of your bowel and/or bladder.  This is very serious and usually requires surgery right away.

The other circumstance that often requires surgery is when a person begins to experience weakness in the extremities (either the arms or legs).  This is a sign that the nerves have so much pressure on them that they are beginning to fall asleep.  This is also a very serious sign.

One thing I should say about that second circumstance, though, is that the weakness I’m referring to is an objective weakness that a doctor can only find through a proper examination.  You may feel like you are experiencing weakness, but unless it shows up on the exam, it may not be serious enough to consider surgery.

In other words, your doctor is the only one who will know if you have a true weakness that requires surgery.

Now let’s discuss the different types of herniated disc surgery commonly utilized today.  Even though there is a lot of new research in this field, the two most commonly used forms of surgery involve either removing the bulging part of the disc to remove the pressure from the nerve, or removing the entire disc and fusing the bones above and below the disc together.

With both of these types of surgery, the success rate is very low – only about 16% according to the medical journal Spine.  Also, these often lead to other complications in the future.  With a fusion, the joints above and below the fusion have to work extra hard to make up for the lack of movement, so those joints tend to wear out more quickly, and the problem will ultimately spread throughout the spine.

In the case of a disc resection, where they remove the portion of the disc that is herniating, the problem usually returns within 5 years, because if you are removing a part of the disc, it creates a weakness in the disc, and also causes scar tissue to develop over time.

Many people ask me about disc replacements, and other recent discoveries in this field, but at this moment in time, these forms of surgery are considered experimental, and have really not shown great success.  I believe there is a lot of promise in this field, but they really haven’t perfected this technology yet.

So, here’s the bottom line with herniated disc surgery – always view this as a last resort.  The success rate is very low, and unless you fit into one of the categories that absolutely requires surgery, you should try everything else available first.

So, what other options do you have?  After working with thousands of patients with this condition, I have actually found that there are a number of treatments that are very helpful, and can truly provide long-term results.

I’ve actually found that it’s a combination of treatments that provide the best results.  If you are interested in avoiding herniated disc surgery, and would like to know more about the combination of treatments that are most effective for healing a herniated disc, you can click here for more info.

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