Degenerative disc disease is a condition that affects millions of people. The condition, characterized by loss of disc height and water content in your spine’s discs, can cause a host of symptoms that prevent you from enjoying your normal activities.
Symptoms of degenerative disc disease may include:
- Low back stiffness and difficulty bending
- Pain in the center or on one side of your back
- Buttock and thigh pain
- Pain or numbness and tingling in your thigh or lower leg
- Weakness in your thigh or lower leg and ankle
If you have any of these symptoms, you should visit your doctor to see if you have degenerative disc disease and get started on the correct treatment for you. Although many patients with degenerative disc disease benefit from conservative treatments, some require surgery to fully restore their pain free movement.
For this reason, finding the best NJ spine surgery facility with top-rated neurosurgeons should be a top priority for people with symptomatic degenerative disc disease.
Treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease
When you are first diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, your doctor may recommend non-surgical treatments like anti-inflammatory medicine and physical therapy. Your physical therapist should teach you exercises and postural control strategies to help take pressure off your spine and nerves and to restore your normal motion and strength.
In some cases, spinal degenerative disc disease can be effectively treated with a surgery called a lumbar fusion. During this operation, your doctor will cut away disc material, arthritic joints and ligaments to help take pressure off your spine and nerves. Then, your vertebrae will be fused together with a bone graft material, and specialized titanium rods will be affixed to your vertebra to hold them in place while things are healing.
After your surgery, you will spend a short period of time recovering, and then you can expect to slowly get back to your normal pain free activities.
There are two different approaches to spinal fusion surgery: the traditional open approach and minimally invasive spinal fusion. During the standard open procedure, your doctor will make a large incision in your back and your muscles will be carefully dissected away from their attachment points. Surgical tools will be used to decompress your nerves and fuse your spinal bones.
Minimally invasive spinal fusion involves using one or two small incisions, while your back muscles are left intact, with only slight spreading of the muscles. Then, specialized tools will be used to visualize your discs and to carry out the fusion.
Benefits of minimally invasive spinal fusion may include:
- Rapid return to activity
- Reduced risk of infection
- Less blood loss
- Sparing of your back muscles, thus requiring less rehab after surgery
- Decreased pain
If you are considering surgery for your degenerative disc disease, finding a neurosurgeon and spine surgery facility that uses minimally invasive spine surgery can help you rapidly get back to your day-to-day activity level.
Find the Best NJ Spine Surgery Facility for Treating Degenerative Disc Disease
Not all spine surgery facilities in NJ are the same. Finding the best surgery facility for your degenerative disc disease treatment can have a positive effect on your overall outcome with surgery. Some things to consider when looking for a spine surgery facility for treating your degenerative disc disease includes:
- Location. The spine surgery facility you choose should be close to where you live. Why? Because when you have surgery, long distance travel for you and your friends should be one of the last things you should worry about. Having a top-rated hospital in New Jersey means ease of travel for you and your family. This makes heading home after surgery a pleasant experience instead of an anxiety-filled adventure.
- Innovative equipment and surgical techniques. The NJ spine surgery facility you choose for degenerative disc disease should be staffed by neurosurgeons who practice innovative techniques, like minimally invasive spinal fusion. This signifies that the facility is abreast of the most state-of-the-art surgical techniques available for degenerative disc disease. The diagnostic and surgical equipment used should be advanced and modern as well.
- Staffed by compassionate and caring professionals. When you have surgery for degenerative disc disease, the nurses and staff who care for you should be caring and compassionate individuals who understand your needs.
Finding the best NJ surgery center for treatment of degenerative disc disease may take some time, but doing so may be worth it. Various methods of finding the best surgery center for you may include:
- Searching the internet for top-rated NJ spinal surgery facilities
- Asking friends and family members about their experiences with spine surgery
- Asking your family physician about the best NJ spine surgery centers for degenerative disc disease
Most importantly, your neurosurgeon should be a top-rated doctor who specializes in treatment of degenerative disc disease.
Qualities of a Top NJ Neurosurgeon for Degenerative Disc Disease
When considering surgery for your degenerative disc disease, you should work with a top-rated neurosurgeon. Qualities of a top NJ neurosurgeon include:
- Engaged in publishing research in neurosurgery
- Board certified
- Has surgical privileges at a top NJ spine surgery facility
- Uses innovative techniques like minimally invasive spine surgery
The most important quality of a neurosurgeon for your degenerative disc disease is that he or she is a caring and compassionate person. When meeting with your doctor, he or she should offer you alternatives to treatment and should take the time to explain various procedures to you. Your surgeon should answer your questions and concerns and should help you feel at ease about your surgery.
Finding the best NJ spine surgery facility for degenerative disc disease may help you locate the best neurosurgeons that treat degenerative disc disease. If you have lower back pain or sciatica from degenerative disc disease, you should learn all you can about your condition and find a top surgery facility for treatment. Working in a world class facility with a compassionate and caring neurosurgeon can help you have a positive outcome with your degenerative disc disease treatment.
