Spine surgery can be used as a pain treatment for degenerative spinal conditions, including:
- Spinal arthritis
- Spinal trauma and fractures
- Spinal tumors
- Slipped discs
- Spinal deformities
Your doctor will consider spinal surgery as a solution if your back pain is persistent and debilitating, and you don’t find pain relief with other treatment options.
There are different types of surgery to reduce back pain:
- Spinal fusion – Connects two or more bones in your spine and relieves pain by adding stability
- SI joint fusion – Fuses the sacrum and ilium on the right or left side to relieve pain
- Artificial disc replacement surgery
- Discectomy – Involves removing the herniated part of a disk to relieve irritation and inflammation of a nerve
- Laminectomy – Involves removing the bone overlying your spinal canal to make the spinal canal larger and relieve nerve pressure
Spine surgery procedures can last between two and seven hours. Recovery time to full functionality is typically up to three months.