Disc extrusion treatment can take a variety of forms and will largely depend on the severity of your herniation.? The good news is that the majority of disc extrusions will either heal on their own during the process of resorption, or the symptoms can be effectively managed with a conservative treatment regimen. Surgery for a disc extrusion is generally reserved for severe, debilitating cases that have negatively affected the patient’s quality of life for three months or longer.?
Conservative Disc Extrusion Treatment
Non-invasive disc extrusion treatment can involve a combination of traditional and holistic methods, including:
- Hot and cold compresses, also called cutaneous stimulation
- Prescription or over-the-counter analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications
- Restorative yoga or other exercises
- Acupuncture for pain management
- Epidural steroid injections
- Transdermal analgesic pain patches
- Alternative treatments
Highly Invasive vs. Minimally Invasive Surgery
If you are unable to manage your disc extrusion symptoms with conservative treatments, the two main paths of surgical treatment available to you are fusion surgery or an endoscopic procedure. Fusion surgery is a highly invasive operation that involves a large incision, bone grafts, stabilizing hardware, and an arduous rehabilitation of up to a year. The surgeon removes all or part of the extruded disc that is causing neural compression before implanting a bone graft between the adjacent vertebrae. Ideally, neural compression is eliminated and the pain that accompanies mobility at that level of the spine is also eliminated.
An endoscopic procedure, on the other hand, is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that uses a small incision and a series of tubes to funnel surgical instruments to the site of neural compression. No hardware or bone grafts are required. Because only a small incision is required for the passage of the endoscope, the recovery process is significantly shorter than that of a fusion surgery.
The Role of Laser Spine Institute
If you would like more information about the benefits of minimally invasive decompression procedures, contact Laser Spine Institute. As the Leader in Endoscopic Spine Surgery, we have helped tens of thousands of people free themselves from back and neck pain.
