Back surgery is not something many people are willing to face. However, 80% of people experience back pain throughout their lives.
The Advanced Pain Management Service Center on Thomas Johnson Street is advocating for a new type of surgery to alleviate back pain, which is not an open surgery and requires fewer medications.
Dr. Sandip Sherekar and Dr. Atif Malik use a high-energy water jet system called percutaneous water knife nucleus pulposectomy to cut into the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc and remove accumulated fluid, which is a typical cause of lower back pain.
The water used in this surgery is as thick and thin as a strand of hair, with a flow rate of 600 miles per hour.
Malik said that in Europe, 60% of lower back surgery is not open surgery. He said, "Many people miss minimally invasive therapy because they don't know there is such a choice
The spine is the backbone of the human body. When the spine hurts, the whole body aches. Lower back pain is a common disease caused by various reasons, the doctor said.
People are not designed to walk on two feet, "Sherekar said. Malik said that he did not agree with this statement, but he said that in general, heredity, malnutrition, lack of exercise, overweight, desk work and sedentary are the causes of low back pain. The older you get, the worse the situation becomes.
The spine is composed of muscles and bones, and muscles must be used. Unused muscle atrophy can cause pain when subjected to excessive pressure. Core strength exercises help to exercise back muscles and help people use their back muscles without causing damage.
"We want people to be positive," Malik said. "We want to fix their problems."
Two doctors received specialized training in spinal intervention.
Spine care is constantly evolving, "Sherekar said. In the past, people chopped and cut, and if it didn't work, they switched to pain management. This usually means painkillers. Surgical intervention is not necessarily the best. Conservative pain management leads to better outcomes
This treatment is most suitable for patients aged 60 and below. Sherekar said that the earlier people seek treatment for back pain, the better the effect. After treatment, if the patient wishes to avoid future back pain, they must take physical exercise, good nutrition, weight loss, and non-smoking seriously.
Principle
The origin of water knife nucleus pulposus resection and aspiration surgery is laser surgery, which has been a minimally invasive treatment for back pain since 1975.
Spine
The spine is composed of a row of intervertebral discs interspersed with bones. The disc is soft and spongy, like a jelly doughnut, Malik said. The center of the disc is called the nucleus pulposus, which contains a lot of fluid and should be included in the intervertebral disc.
But back tension causes fluid to leak out of the nucleus pulposus. Liquid leaks into the surrounding fibrous ring, sometimes exceeding it, causing the intervertebral disc to bulge. The leaked fluid, especially when forming a herniated intervertebral disc, can cause severe pain.
Malik said that in the 35 year old laser therapy, the laser was inserted into the spine and sucked out the fluid that caused the protrusion of the intervertebral disc. The problem with doing so is that the heat emitted by the laser can cause nerve damage.
Open surgery usually cannot solve the pain caused by fluid leakage,