Lower Back Spine Surgery In Older Adults Show Good Outcomes

Herniated disc surgery for a slipped disc poses benefit for older adults, according to the results of a study conducted by Mattis A. Madsbu, a medical student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and colleagues at the Department of Neurosurgery at St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway. //

"This study shows that it is fully possible to do good surgical research on elderly patients," says Madsbu.

Sciatica - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention, Health Tips
Sciatica refers to the pain that is caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve. Sciatic pain is felt from the low back.

‘Patients older than 65 experience greater improvement in their low back pain than younger patients after the surgery done to treat herniated slipped disc.’

Tweet it Now

Lumbar (lower back) spine surgery is a common intervention, with almost 2,000 such procedures being carried out in Norway annually. Study data on surgical outcomes among elderly patients have been limited.

If you have a slipped disc, it means that one of the discs that serves as a cushion between each vertebra has been damaged. Slipped discs in the lower back are a common cause of sciatica. This condition can cause severe pain in the back and down the leg and foot. At worst, disc herniation can lead to paralysis.

Usually non-surgical treatment, such as exercise, heat treatment and painkillers, are recommended for patients without serious loss of motion, but this is not always enough.

Epidural Steroid Injections Have Limited Effectiveness for Sciatica
Review and meta-analysis of clinical trials on the efficacy of epidural corticosteroid injections by Australian scientists revealed the limited effectiveness of this invasive procedure.

Surgical treatment is usually offered to patients who have endured considerable pain for a long time despite a period with other treatment therapies.

Researchers at NTNU and St. Olavs Hospital compared patient-reported treatment outcomes following lumbar spine surgery for 381 patients over 65 years and 5195 younger patients. The figures were taken from the Norwegian quality register for spinal surgery, a national registry for quality control and research.

Acupuncture and Acupressure Treatment - All About Needles and Needless Pain
Dr. P.B. Lohiya suggests treatment and cure for long term illnesses through acupuncture and acupressure therapy.

The study also shows that the over-65 group of patients experienced greater improvement in their low back pain than younger patients.

However, compared with younger patients, older patients experienced more non-serious surgical complications (4.2 percent versus 2.3 percent) and they had somewhat longer hospital stays (1.8 versus 2.7 days).

Yoga and Back Pain - Introduction
The healing effects of yoga benefit those suffering from backpain, by alleviating their pain and also preventing its recurrence.

Even so, this did not affect the treatment outcomes since the complications were less serious, according to Madsbu. The authors conclude that age alone should not be used to decide against surgery.

Source-Eurekalert