back pain after scoliosis surgery
When the spine has a deformity during which the alignment deviates to the sides, it is said that the person has scoliosis.
Congenital scoliosis, idiopathic scoliosis, disorders that occur in the spine over time, and previous surgeries can all cause this problem.
When the deviation of the spine is abnormal, the nerves and joints are affected by the pressure and the person will experience complications such as pain and skeletal discomfort and breathing problems.
In this situation, the doctor will probably go for surgery and pain is very common after this surgery.
If you want to find scientific and correct information about pain after scoliosis surgery and the main ways to definitively treat pain after scoliosis surgery, stay tuned.
Pain after scoliosis surgery
There are different techniques for scoliosis surgery, which are somewhat dependent on the severity of the deviation, the cause and the reason, or the amount of the angle that the spine has deviated from the permissible limit.
If the person's scoliosis is mild and, for example, has caused pressure on the nerve, a surgery called laminectomy is used.
If scoliosis has caused narrowing of the spinal canal and pressure on a large number of nerve fibers and even the spinal cord and has caused the person more serious problems, the doctor usually uses spinal fusion surgery to correct the problems and correct the height of the vertebra and the pressure on the nerve.
Connecting two or three vertebrae in the lumbar region or fusion of the lumbar spine is one of the methods used for patients with moderate to severe scoliosis.
This method begins with a surgical incision in the back and the space between the involved vertebrae is usually filled with person's bone or artificial bone.
In lumbar spine surgery, the doctor avoids cutting the back muscles.
In some cases, it is possible that a person has a complex and severe deformity with kyphosis, that is, there is scoliosis with acute and severe kyphosis, or there is an excessive angle deviation that can be treated with spinal fusion, at this time, the surgeon tries to improve the patient's condition by osteotomy, changing the shape of the bones and fixing the bones with the help of metal screws and plates.
It will be obvious that after surgery and during the recovery period, a person will experience pain in the surgical site and widespread pain due to surgical manipulations, surgeon's incision and reactive muscle spasm.
All these pains are normal and transitory if they are relieved with the passage of time and the patient does not suffer from progressive weakness of the muscles of the lower limbs, numbness or urinary and fecal incontinence, and it improves with prescribed painkillers, specialized drugs and standard specialized physiotherapy.
Scoliosis
We call the deviation of the spine to the sides as scoliosis, and adults suffer from scoliosis when the disc and joints of their spine begin to atrophy.
The joints of the spine, including the facet joints, increase the flexibility of our spine and provide conditions that facilitate the rotation, stretching and bending of the body.
If for any reason these joints suffer from problems and deviations, the bones of your spine will rotate and deviate to one side.
Causes of scoliosis
There are many different causes of scoliosis. Scoliosis can affect a baby at birth due to congenital problems or occur in teenagers, especially teenage girls.
What is the cause of scoliosis in adults?
When age increases, your skeletal muscle system and joints in the spine face degenerative changes, and in this way, the joints and spine are misaligned.
Osteoporosis and decreased bone density, compression fractures of the vertebrae, inflammation of the spinal joints, degeneration of the intervertebral disc and facet joint syndrome, all cause the loss of the natural alignment of your spine.
When the age increases, the joints also age and the vertebrae can suffer compression fractures.
In this way, part of the spine can deviate from its natural curve and cause scoliosis.
Sometimes surgery is required due to instability of the spine due to scoliosis.
Deviations cause damage to the spinal cord and nerve fibers and make your breathing difficult due to changes in the chest volume.
Symptoms
Scoliosis can be mild, moderate or severe.
The symptoms of this problem can be pain and stiffness in the middle and lower back, and it can even cause you to experience sensory problems such as numbness and weakness in the legs and toes.
Pain and sensory symptoms are usually caused by pressure on the nerve fiber.
Also, in severe cases, a person can experience shooting pains in the legs, which is sometimes called sciatica pain and causes discomfort that disables a person to stand straight and walk for a long time.
In severe scoliosis, a person has symptoms of spinal canal narrowing, and in this way, the imbalance of the spine, the feeling of cramping in the thigh, knee, and the inability to walk in a straight path increases the risk of the patient falling.
treatment
In mild to moderate cases of scoliosis in adults, according to the severity of symptoms and the patient's discomfort, treatments are usually done with painkillers, physical therapy, non-surgical methods. If the cause of scoliosis is facet joint inflammation, your doctor will definitely focus on the facet joint inflammation.
In complex and severe deviations, the doctor suggests spinal surgeries.
The doctor usually prepares you with care methods 3 to 6 months before this surgery.
Taking care to maintain the correct posture of the body and trying to walk correctly, sit correctly and stand correctly are among these things.
Losing weight and quitting smoking are also serious recommendations of doctors before scoliosis surgery.
Scoliosis surgeries
In mild scoliosis, where the deviation of the spine causes compression of the nerve at the level of one vertebra, the doctor uses laminectomy surgery to treat your problem.
In cases where there is spinal canal stenosis due to spinal deviation, the doctor uses spinal fusion surgery to improve the height of the vertebra and relieve the pressure of the spinal cord on the nerve or spinal cord.
In the case of severe deviations associated with kyphosis and more complex deviations, the doctor may use osteotomy and fix bone fragments with screws and plates, thus restoring stability to your spine.
Local inflammations due to surgical manipulations, reactive spasm of the muscles in the surgical area, along with the incision of the surgical knife on your skin can cause pain after scoliosis surgery.
Causes of pain after scoliosis surgery
Spinal fusion surgery may have problems and so-called pseudarthrosis and create a false joint, which itself can cause pain and discomfort and related complications.
There may be problems with bone cutting or osteotomy and the functioning of screw rods and plates, and these tools put pressure on the nerves adjacent to the spinal cord and cause peripheral neuropathy and pain, or they put pressure on the spinal cord itself and cause myelopathy and related problems.
Infections at the site of the surgical incision, in the joints and near the spine can cause pain and discomfort.
Surgery is not recommended for all cases of scoliosis.
There are some surgical complications that can lead to worsening of scoliosis, including the broken rods that the doctor used and the non-fusion of the spine.
Complications of scoliosis surgery in the future
Sometimes a person who undergoes scoliosis surgery has problems years after the surgery due to the structural problems of his spine.
For example, the discs between the vertebrae above and below the fusion site of the spine may have problems.
Discs degenerate earlier than usual, and this can cause a person to experience pain related to a degenerated disc.
Among other examples of complications in the long term, we can mention "flat back syndrome" which leads to the loss or flattening of the natural arch of the back.
There is a painful deformity called crankshaft phenomenon, which occurs when the front of the spine grows while the back of the spine does not.
This complication usually affects children who have undergone scoliosis surgery in the past.
Another complication is a phenomenon called adding-on; when in children and adolescents, there is a curve in the chest area and this curve continues below the fused surface, if the surgeon has not done enough fusion, or the patient has not yet completed the skeletal assessment of his growth, this complication bothers a person in adulthood.
All of the above can cause you pain and discomfort years after you have had scoliosis surgery.
Ways to prevent complications and pain
- Avoid lifting objects weighing more than 3 kg.
- Try not to bend from the waist, keep the back straight and bend from the hips.
- Do not ride a bicycle for one month after the surgery. Do not do vigorous jumping and jumping exercises for three months after the surgery
- After 6 months from the time of operation, there will be no permanent movement restriction for you
But sometimes, after spinal cord fusion surgery, your doctor may place some permanent restrictions on you depending on your condition.
Most people will not have restrictions on their activities after 6 to 8 months after surgery, but in some special circumstances, permanent restrictions after spinal fusion will also exist for you.
These restrictions may be, for example, that after the operation, the doctor prohibits you from running and strong jumping, or you are prohibited from doing any vigorous exercise that causes excessive bending of your spine.
Strenuous exercise should be avoided, and additional restrictions may be imposed by the physician based on the patient's condition.
Ways to relieve pain after scoliosis surgery
It is obligatory to follow the care points that we mentioned in the previous section and in addition to resuming standard physiotherapy after surgery, as recommended by the specialist doctor.
In some cases, using a standard brace will protect you from complications and severe pain after surgery.
It has been proven that after scoliosis surgery, starting exercise as recommended by your doctor and standard specialized physical therapy methods will speed up your recovery process.
Factors effective in pain relief after scoliosis surgery
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Quitting any type of smoking:
Nicotine is a known bone poison that disrupts bone growth.
Any substance containing nicotine increases the risk of spinal fusion surgery failure.
So, it is seriously recommended to stop smoking 3 to 6 months before scoliosis surgery.
causes you to face more side effects, pain and discomfort during and after surgery.
aggravates pain and discomfort after surgery and severely delays your recovery after surgery.
Cares:
Most patients who have undergone scoliosis surgery get off the hospital bed with the help of a nurse and a physiotherapist to walk a few steps the day after the surgery.
Some other patients may be able to do this two to three days later.
It is normal that you will be hesitant and afraid to get out of bed and walk for the first time and feeling tired and bruised.
However, know that even a little movement and walking is necessary to start the process of strengthening the muscles around the spine and regaining flexibility.
Remember to avoid lifting heavy objects, twisting and bending from the back during the recovery period after surgery.
In what cases should we report the pain after scoliosis surgery to the doctor?
Pains that are accompanied by muscle weakness and progressive numbness or are accompanied by paralysis or urinary or fecal incontinence should be reported to the doctor.
Final word
Scoliosis or lateral deviation of the spine is not a very common disorder, on the other hand, most people with scoliosis do not need surgery and their symptoms are controlled with minimally invasive treatments.
In cases where scoliosis and spinal deviation cause pain and discomfort and cause severe and dangerous spinal canal narrowing, the doctor suggests surgery.
Surgery will expose you to complications.
Pain after scoliosis surgery in the first days and weeks is normal and will gradually reduce, but in cases where it is due to the failure of bone fusion or breaking of the rod and displacement of the screws inside the bones, it is a critical condition.
Nerve and spinal damage in these conditions should be considered very serious and should be examined and treated quickly by a surgeon to protect the patient from serious complications such as permanent paralysis.