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Spinal Arthritis Symptoms May Be Relieved with Laser Surgery
Spinal arthritis is a fairly common condition after the age of 45. Always painful and sometimes chronic, arthritis can mean stiffness, muscle spasms, headaches, sleep disturbances, and other disabling symptoms for anyone who has it.
Often occurring in the neck and lower back, spinal arthritis typically begins when joints in the spine go through the natural aging process. With spinal arthritis, bones in the spine called vertebrae, and the ligaments that run along the vertebrae, can begin to feel stiff. Gradually, vertebrae may begin to move closer together, causing pressure and irritation between each vertebra, and extra bone growth called bone spurs may develop. As the vertebrae and bone spurs rub together, inflammation and pain increase. Eventually, the pressure may work its way to the nerves of the spinal cord, causing pain, numbness, and weakness in the arms and legs.
Your doctor may use a variety of terms when describing spinal arthritis. A few of the medical descriptions you may hear about this type of arthritis include:
- Osteoarthritis of the spine - Osteoarthritis is an age-related arthritis that typically appears in the hips, knees, hands, feet, and spine. With osteoarthritis, cartilage between the joints wears out and the parts of the joint begin to rub together, causing pain and bone spurs.
- Degenerative changes in the spine - This is another way to describe spinal arthritis and osteoarthritis of the spine. “Degenerative changes” means the spinal joints have deteriorated over time.
- Facet joint arthritis - Arthritis also can occur in the facet joints of the spine. The job of these joints is to connect the vertebrae and enable your spinal column to move as you bend, stretch, etc. With age, the facet joints can thicken and harden because of arthritic changes.
If you have been diagnosed with spinal arthritis, your doctor may try to treat it with exercise, medication, and physical therapy. If these treatments don’t ease your pain, your doctor may recommend open back surgery, or you may be told that nothing else can be done to help your symptoms.
Laser Spine Institute welcomes you to contact us about the possibility of laser spine surgery to treat your spinal arthritis. A quick, outpatient procedure with fast healing times, laser surgery has helped many thousands of patients with spinal arthritis. Please call or e-mail us today to receive a free MRI or CT scan review, and to learn more about the gentle, minimally invasive options available from Laser Spine Institute.