The price of spinal decompression surgery is comparable to the price of its alternate, open spine surgery without the additional risks.  Of course there is still a possibility of the rare side effects that exist, but what is that in comparison the relieving the pain that has taken control of your life…And probably saving your life.  Because medical conditions of the spine are matters of life and death, most spinal decompression procedures are covered – at least partially – by your insurance.  The amount you are required to pay out of pocket for your surgery will vary greatly on your insurance provider and their relationship to your chosen physician.

While there is still recovery time after spinal decompression, many of the elements that made recovery from open spine surgery so long are removed by the nature of the procedure.  Spinal decompression uses a state of the art procedure that allows a doctor to perform a great many deal of tasks with minimal space.  As technology increases, the abilities to perform more miracles continue to be revealed.  With spinal decompression, there are no major incisions or opening of the tissue from which to heal. There is a minor incision that begins to heal very quickly.

There are no stitches to have to wait to either dissolve or reschedule an appointment to have them removed.  You may require a light gauze to your incision for a few days.  Most often, there is someone in your household can help you.  Otherwise, you can often get your wound packing material replaced by the practicing surgeon himself.

Less time required for healing is not the only benefit to be gained from a smaller incision.  There is a large concern of vanity among many of our culture, and minimal scarring is important.  Gone are the days where a scar down the length of your spine is necessary.  There is a barely noticeable incision mark after the body has completely healed.  The scarring that is present generally fades into more of a blemish.  This is not the case for open spine surgery.  There is traumatic scarring involved that force you into the decision to spend more on cosmetic surgery or deal with it for the rest of your life.

Spinal decompression is one of the leading options in finding permanent relief from numerous conditions of the back.  The spine is one of our most precious body parts, as it is the central hub to which our functioning limbs connect.  The spine is as vital to our motor skills as the functionality of our brain.  Spinal decompression surgery is the least invasive form of surgery, and is the top option among patients who demand something better.

The most common side effect to the spinal decompression is caused by the interference with critical  nerves or the spinal cord itself.  The most severe result of this mishap is paralysis.  Moderate discomfort that is caused by minimal damage to the nervous system may be numbness, either on the spine or in various parts of the body.

Pain is a common side effect to this minimally invasive surgery.  It is sometimes confused with a more serious condition.  While there is pain medication available to reduce the pain, it commonly persists quite heavily for the initial recovery time after your operation.

The nature of spinal surgery is a direct indication of what takes place.  There is a change made to the pressure on your spine.  This is done in a variety of ways.  One of the procedures used requires the insertion of ‘hardware,’ or metal braces to help fuse the segments of your spine together.  One rare side effect is the breaking or shifting of these braces prematurely.  This failure to a vertebrae that has not completed the fusion process is cause for a second surgery.   This side effect itself can lead to extreme pain, as a weak vertebrae is subject to shift.

It is important to note that this occurrence is extremely rare naturally.  Most reported cases of this tragedy were caused by external forces causing trauma to the recently operated spine.  Car wrecks, falls, and other unavoidable accidents have been mostly attributed to the cause of hardware failure.

Another potential side effect is transitional syndrome.  This is a case where the stress of your problem vertebrae for which you were originally seeking surgery was adopted by an adjacent vertebrae that causes more severe pain than before.  This side effect is most commonly caused by a fair mix of poor execution and natural reaction.  Although the process of transition can happen as a natural occurrence in the body, there are a fair amount of cases where the doctor’s carelessness caused the action.

It is important to be completely aware of the history of possible complaints that have been logged against your prospective operating physician.  Any practitioner who has has multiple patient complaints should be avoided.  It is possible to find physicians who have very clean records of success.  Complaints against hospitals are a matter of public safety and are therefore accessible for public viewing.

There are other available resources online that should help you with your search to find the perfect doctor to perform your spinal decompression.

Many doctors prefer to use a number of other treatments before recommending surgery. Fortunately, some are beginning to accept spinal decompression as a viable alternative. Aside from being less invasive, this procedure also addresses other factors that may not be possible to diagnose, let alone treat with a surgical procedure.  In particular, when a spinal disc, or a piece of bone pinches a nerve, it may also cut off some of the blood supply to other tissue in that area.   This may include bone tissue, as well as cartilage that will send off distress signals for months on end.  While the cessation of pain may be a relief, there is no telling how much hidden damage may have been caused by the compression and even people suffering with diabetes could find relief in spinal decompression therapy.

Many kinds of injuries can disrupt the normal alignment of the muscles and bone in your neck or spine.  After the initial pain goes away, you may develop sciatica months, or even years later.  Interestingly enough, even people with hip and shoulder pain often find out that the problem is located in the spine, or in the areas where the main nerve exits the spine.
A chiropractor can use certain spinal manipulations to realign your back, and relieve the pressure.   That said, if the case is more severe, or there are other joint complications, you may need to see an orthopedic specialist.  In most cases, they will wind up doing a lot of tests, and then give you all sorts of pain killers.

If you want to get out of the cycle of pain caused by sciatica, you should consider a number of different options.  While most doctors will tell you about surgery, cortisone shots, and pain killers, they may not tell you about a newer treatment.  Therefore, you should make it a point to ask about spinal decompression, as well as try to find out from other resources if it has the potential to be of help to you.