We all suffer from low back pain or lumbosciatica at least once in our lives. Low back pain is a pain in the lumbar spine that occurs most frequently in the lower lumbar and lumbosacral area. When pain radiates to one or both legs, it is called sciatica. In 95% of the cases these pains occur on the basis of degenerative changes of the intervertebral discs, which may result in disc protrusions or herniations that could produce compression in the sensitive nerve structures such as the dural sac and the nerve roots that pass through the spinal ducts. This produces a very intense pain radiating into one or both legs, sciaatalgia. Degenerative changes of the spinal joints also slowly occur and may occlude the dural sac space and nerve roots by bone growth, resulting in spinal claudication, a feeling of heaviness and pain in the legs that worsens with walking.
Treatment
Most cases can be resolved with conservative treatment such as rehabilitation and physical therapy and/or minimally invasive treatment with infiltrations directly to the affected area. However, there are cases that require surgical treatment. Nowadays the technique used is microscopic decompression. This new technique allows us to reduce the damage of the approach to a minimum, so the patient goes home the day after surgery. If implant placement is indicated, for example, in cases of severe instability or degenerative decompensated deformities, thanks to advances in this field, the patient recovers more quickly, even if the surgery is more aggressive than the microscopic technique. Mobilization is performed with a girdle and the patient can be discharged earlier to return to a normal life without pain.