scoliosis blog

Many people experience some form of backache in the course of their lives. Lower, or lumbar, back pain tends to be quite prevalent and ultimately stems from the fact that we humans walk upright, thus putting tremendous stress on the lower spine over the years.

Back pain can be acute or chronic and derives from a variety of causes, one of the main ones being nerve impingement. This happens when a nerve running through the spinal column is touched or pinched. Common causes of nerve impingement are herniated discs and degenerated discs.

What are the treatment options for chronic lumbar pain ?

• Back braces have been found to help reduce pain by restricting the movement of the spine
• Pain medications are often useful. However their main effect is on the brain, resulting in
central nervous system side effects such as drowsiness and addiction.
• Physical therapy can help as therapists employ massage, heat treatment, whirlpool baths, ultrasound
and individualized exercises.
• Chiropractic has also been shown to have some effectiveness in pain relief through spinal
manipulation. However the efficacy of chiropractors in chronic pain relief has not been well established.
• Spinal decompression has had some success with bulging and herniated discs in that it gently separates the vertebrae over a period of weeks, helping to diffuse water, oxygen and nutrients to the injured site.

But when all else fails, people with chronic back pain turn to the orthopaedic surgeon to heal the cause of their pain. Until recently, the best tools that orthopedists have had in their diagnostic and treatment arsenals were the MRI and CT scans.

Now, thanks to the groundbreaking, patent pending process known as stereolithography, an actual three dimensional model of a particular patient’s spine can be made from his or her MRI or CT scans. An expert stereolithographer, using a bone-like powder, creates a full-sized model that is accurate to 1/35th of a millimeter. With such a model in front of him, the surgeon can determine ahead of time what instruments he or she will actually need in the operation and even perform a “dry-run” of the surgery, thus reducing the actual surgery time. This in turn reduces the patient’s cost by tens of thousands of dollars. But more importantly it also reduces the patient’s risks.

When surgery becomes necessary, the three-dimensional model should be a requirement.