The Basics of Cervical Spine Surgery

When you have neck problems, your life is a bit different from the average persons'.  You will likely avoid certain actions because you're afraid that you're neck might get sore. 

Before you consider surgery, there are other methods that may be a better fit for you.  Some people use muscle relaxers or other pain medications to help them feel better.  While this is affective for some, others don't seem to feel better with this kind of action.  If you pain is particularly bad, you may want to start visiting a physical therapist or a chiropractor.  Either of these specialists should be able to help you with your pain.  At this point, if you still aren't feeling better, surgery may be the answer. 

If you're thinking about surgery, you'll need to visit a doctor.  Specialists will be able to evaluate your situation and health to determine if cervical spine surgery is right for you.  They will, for example, look at the cause of your pain.  Not all causes are covered by the surgery.  What is covered is pain from cervical deformities, degenerative disease, and injury.  They will likely take a look at the spine and vertebrae of your neck with the help of an MRI machine.  With this, they will have a much better idea of whether or not you are a good candidate for the surgery. 

The surgery for this is actually fairly straightforward, although it is invasive.  As the name suggests, cervical spine surgery does work on the cervical part of your spine.  This is the upper vertebrae that makes up your neck.  There are other parts of the spine as well.  For instance, the lower vertebrae are called the lumbar spine.  In cervical surgery, they will be working on any problems that are occurring for the vertebrae in your spine. 

This kind of spine surgery is often referred to as cervical spine fusion surgery.  This is because of the way that they repair your neck problem.  They first open up your neck so that they have access to your spine.  They then completely remove the part that is causing the problems.  This could be either a disc or part of a bone.  Once removed, they then fuse two of your vertebrae together using a bone graft.  This painful procedure is called sine fusion surgery because of this.  While it may sound scary, it is actually very effective.  More than ninety percent of patients who undergo this procedure come out with their symptoms completely, or nearly completely, all gone.  This is reason enough to go through with the surgery.

Recovery time is a bit harder to handle for some people.  This isn't the kind of surgery where you can walk away on the same day.  Instead, you will likely be stuck in a hospital bed for at least a week.  Since they will be working on your spine, you will need a lot of bed rest.  Even after you leave the hospital, you won't be fully recovered from the procedure until at least five weeks after the surgery.  Although the recovery is a bit of a hassle, it is still worth it in the end.  You will be able to participate in activities without having to worry about how it will affect your neck.