non Surgical

Various Treatment Modalities

• First step is diagnosis for people who suffer from low back or neck pain. Diagnosis involves clinical examination, and history, this gives an idea to the spine surgeon wether it can be a spinal problem or not
• Then investigations are required. Nowadays a Digital X-ray of the spine and MRI scan of the spine are routine investigations, which are required to confirm a spine etiology






• Apart from these sometimes a CT scan, nerve conduction studies and some special blood investigations may also be required. Once all the test results are seen, and diagnosis is confirmed. We proceed for treatment
• If the patient is neurologically intact, that is he doesn’t have any weakness or wastingof muscles then he/she is put on initial conservative treatment
• Conservative management involves a period of rest, medicines usually painkillers& muscle relaxants, physiotherapy - involving relaxation and stregthening of muscles - by various modalities & exercises
• Sometimes people also have other medical problems like Diabetes, Thyroid irregularities or associated co-morbidites like obesity, these also aggravate the spinal problems
• Any success of conservative line of management is successful if these co-morbidites are also controlled and managed appropriately
• 80-85% people with spine complaints get better with this line of management

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy done under
proper guidance gives good
results for early spine problems

Physiotherapy involves not just exercises but also various other modalities like IFT & TENS, which in association with exercises relaxes the muscles and also builds up the tone and proper strength of the muscles.

The duration of the physiotherapy depends on the type and severity of the problem, and weather there is any neurological symptoms involved or not.

Physiotherapy once started takes a gradual time to experience results, if the problem is a pure musculoskeletal problem and needs only muscle strengthening then even after the pain and symptoms have subsided it is advisable to continue with the exercises, the reason being, if the exercises are discontinued then the muscle power can decrease and again the same problems can recur.

Injections

An injection procedure
non invasive & pain management

Sometimes taking painkillers does not give adequate pain relief, also physiotherapy may not provide much improvement in some cases. This can happen when there is a small compression on the nerves not significant, but because of the release of some chemicals around the nerves an inflammation develops, this causes pain in the legs or hands. In such cases we can attempt to give an injection around the nerve to reduce the inflammation of the nerves.

This injection is very safe and does not cause any adverse effects. It is done without anesthesia, under image guidance and usually the benefit of such an injection can last sometimes upto 4-6 months.