Archive for July, 2011

Patients should understand that the cervical spine( neck) is much more forgiving when there is compression from a disc or spinal stenosis. One major reason is the load on the neck is about 8 pounds from the head. Therefore,many non- surgical options may be helpful including medication,therapy, traction to name a few. However, when pain radiates into arms or there are associated balance issues then more aggressive treatment may be necessary.Unfortunately, there is a point when these symptoms may not recover if removal of blockages due tio arthritic spurs or disc are not surgically removed. The good news is that smaller incision less then two inches from the front of the neck can be performed with very rapid recovery.Again, only for reasonable failed conservative treatment.Most patients are extremely gradified with their results.