Spinal Stenosis: Surgery Yields Better Results

Hanover, NH (AHN) - Physicians usually considered nonsurgical treatment for common back problem known as spinal stenosis, before arriving to a final available option which is surgery. But a recent study shows that for spinal stenosis, surgery yields significantly better results than nonsurgical alternatives.

The results were part of the Spine Patients Outcomes Research Trial study that compared the effect of surgical and nonsurgical treatments on common back pain. It started in 2000 and was conducted at 13 sites across the U.S.

In the latest study, 803 patients with spinal stenosis were enrolled, 398 of which underwent surgery. After two years, 63 percent of those that had surgery showed statistically significant improvements in bodily pain compared to only 29 percent for those who had nonsurgical treatment.

Lead researcher James N. Weinstein, surgeon and chairman of orthopedics at the Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire said, "I still believe we have too much spine surgery overall," but this study shows that where there is a "specific diagnosis of stenosis, spine surgery will bring a benefit."

Spinal stenosis is a medical condition in which the spinal canal tightens and compresses the spinal cord and nerves. It usually occurs with aging and affects cervical spine and lumbar spine or both.

Surgical procedure for spinal stenosis is called laminectomy in which the lamina of the vertebra is taken out or trimmed to widen the spinal canal that will make more space for the spinal nerves. This procedure amounts to $10,000 to $12,000 which is one of the most usual operations done in the U.S.