What is Slip Disc ?
Slipped disc refers to a condition where the intervertebral disc or the shock absorber system of our spine is pushed out from its normal area, generally towards the travelling nerve roots. This leads to pinching or compression of the nerve roots which are responsible for movement of our hands and legs.
What are the symptoms of Slip Disc ?
Symptoms of slipped disc are very much varied in nature and it generally depends upon the degree of the extent of slipped disc which is leading to the compression of the nerve roots. list of common symptoms are as follows
- Hip pain radiating to either one or both the hips : Hip is the area from where the sciatic nerve passes and if the nerve roots which make the sciatic nerve are compressed. This leads to the pain in the sciatic nerve which is the hip area the pain may extend in the back of the thigh and also in the calf area which is a very common complaint in many patients.
- Numbness in the upper or lower limbs: Patient complaints of numbness on one or both the lower legs in the case of lumbar slip disc. This numbness increases when the patient stands for sometime what tries to walk for a considerable distance. Numbness can be described in multiple ways by patients which include a feeling of tingling in the legs or hands, or a feeling of pin pricking or, a sense of heaviness etc.
- Weakness of the muscles of the legs or hands : Slip disc in the neck region leads to weakness of hands and slipped disc in the lower back region leads to weakness of the legs. In some cases if the compression on the nerve because of a slip disc is too much it may lead to complete paralysis of the nerve and lead to symptoms like foot drop.
- Loss of control over bladder and bowel functions : If there is a disturbance in the control of bladder and bowel movements then the patient is considered as an emergency case. These patients need surgery on an urgent basis in order to avoid the permanent damage to the cauda equina nerve roots leading to permanent loss of function of bladder and bowel.
- Low back pain or neck pain radiating to shoulder or interscapular area.
What are the reasons for Slip Disc ?
There are multiple reasons which leads to slip disc this can be enumerated as under
- Age related degeneration of the disc: As the ageing happens that discs starts to degenerate also these processes have been accelerated by the lack of exercise and the lack of adequate hydration of the body.
- Trauma to the spine: Any injury to the spine will lead to Problem in the disc Which may lead to protrusion prolapse or herniation of the disc .
How to diagnose a herniated disc ?
There are multiple ways to diagnose the herniated disc however the most important thing is the detailed History taking, the clinical evaluation including the detailed neurological examination to be done by spine specialist or the spine surgeon. In the clinical examination if the straight leg raising test is positive or there is severe pain in the sciatic nerve gluteal course, the posterior aspect of the thigh and the calf area it is generally the symptom of the prolapsed intervertebral disc.
X-ray and the MRI scans are done to evaluate the extent of disc herniation. MRI gives very good detailed imaging of the extent of disc herniation also the compression of the nerve roots. X-ray in general tells you about the loss of disc height which is indirect evidence of the prolapsed intervertebral disc. Best slip disc treatment in India is only possible if the right diagnosis is made after investigations.
Treatments for Slip Disc ?
Slip disc treatment in India can be of various different types and approaches as
- Undermentioned. conservative management: 95% of slip disc can be Conservatively treated. conservative treatment means putting the patient on medicines , Lifestyle modification ,Physiotherapy exercises yoga etc. if properly followed most of the disc problems Heal with almost full recovery with conservative therapy
- Spinal Injection: Spinal injections are required in many cases when the disc pathology is not healing with the usual conservative methods as described above . Spinal Injection offers targeted Drug Delivery that is drug is delivered to the exact space where the problem is. This leads to decrease in inflammation of that area and Rapid pain relief.
- Endoscopic spine surgery: However nevertheless when the upper above measures fail or if the patient Is having very severe symptoms including weakness , pain or bladder bowel involvement the patient is given the choice of spine endoscopic surgery. nowadays endoscopic spine surgery is a standard procedure with very good results.it is performed the very small hole. Endoscopic slip disc surgery cost in India is relatively more than microdiscectomy. However the cost of endoscopic spine surgery has been relatively less than what it used to be 5 years back.
- Microscopic spine surgery on microdiscectomy: Before endoscopic spine surgery this was the most minimally invasive spine surgery however after the advent of endoscopic system, microdiscectomy has taken a backseat. but Considering the unavailability of the experts who can perform endoscopic spine surgery as well as the endoscopic spine surgery equipment microdiscectomy Still continues to be the primary way of treating the patients for the disc problems however this requires general anaesthesia as compared to local anaesthesia in the case of endoscopic discectomy.
- Open spine surgery: Open spine surgery can also be performed and the disc can effectively be removed however this surgery involves a very large incision and a lot of Collateral Damage to the muscles tissues which does not happen in the case of endoscopic spine surgery.
Risk factor of slip disc surgery.
This is a most common question which is encountered in our outpatient department. However nowadays with the advancement of Technology and the availability of high Precision instruments and endoscopes and 4K vision systems chances of nerve injury are very very rare and spine surgery has become a very safe alternative. Also one very big advantage of endoscopic spine surgery is that the patient is awake during the surgery so accidental damage to the nerve is not possible because the patient will immediately tell any signs of any injury or the pain before the injury really happens. that is why endoscopy is regarded as a very very safe procedure as compared to any other surgeries in which the patient has to be given full anaesthesia. As per the records the endoscopic slip disc surgery success rate in India is much more higher than any other spinal procedures. On a global level endoscopic spine surgery success ratio is much higher than microscopic spine surgery. On the other hand endoscopic Spine surgery risk is almost negligible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans : yes Mostly slip discs always Heal by conservative management Strategies and surgery is required not very often. Best doctor for slip disc in Delhi always prescribes conservative management for 1st presentation with no defecit.
Ans: Majority of herniated discs always Heal without surgery however the amount of disc prolapse also has to be taken into consideration. sometimes disc herniations are known to not Heal by themselves and needs surgical intervention
Ans: Severe disc herniations are known to be very resistant to conservative therapies however conservative therapy is always done as a primary line of treatment Before any intervention is offered to the patient.
Ans: Absolutely yes. cervical herniated disc are known to heal by conservative therapies including pharmacotherapy Physiotherapy Lifestyle modification and rest.
Ans: Most of the disc bulges can be treated successfully with conservative management however sometimes they may require spinal injections and or endoscopic procedure.
Ans: The risk of doing any surgery related to disc herniation have been reduced down to a very low numbers ,specially after the advent of high magnification systems like spine endoscopes And 4K cameras.Herniated disc surgery recovery time has also been reduced after these advancements.
Ans: Nowadays slip disc surgery is a very safe procedure and can be effectively done with minimum risk involved as Technology has advanced a great deal allowing the surgeon to do his work in a very precise manner.
Dr Devashish Sharma - Best Spine Surgeon in Delhi
Dr Devashish Sharma
Consultant, Department of Spine
MBBS, Post Graduate (Orthopaedics), Clinical Att.
Fellow Endoscopic Spine – TESSYS – Erfurt, Germany
Fellow Spine Training – NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, USA
Dr Devashish Sharma is top rated spine surgeon in Delhi India. He is specialised in Endoscopic Spine Surgery, Minimally invasive Spine Surgery and other complex spine surgery.
He also served as spine specialist at India’s leading hospitals including APOLLO HOSPITAL, New Delhi, Jaypee Hospital Noida, Bone Hospital Agra and Sanjeevini Hospital Greater Noida.
He did his MBBS from Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, followed by Post Graduate training in Orthopaedics from Santosh Medical College & Hospitals (SMCH), Uttar Pradesh.
He has also received training as a Clinical Attachment fellow at Northwick Park Hospital & Central Middlesex Hospital (North-West Healthcare) LONDON (U.K.)
Dr Devashish is one of the best spine specialist in Delhi with 100% Success Ratio. Say hello to a normal life again… Get the best in class spine treatment in Delhi.
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