Back Pain

In addition to severe discomfort, back pain often makes it difficult or impossible to work. Visit fellowship-trained neurosurgeon Praveen Reddy, MD, M.Ch, and the team at the Center for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, which has five prominent locations in Spring, Conroe, Kingwood, Willis, The Woodlands, Texas, if your back pain is severe or doesn’t improve with home treatment. The team uses advanced skills to perform lumbar spine surgery and other cutting-edge operations, relieving pain and restoring function. Call the nearest Center for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, office or book an appointment online today for expert back pain diagnosis and treatment.

What’s causing my back pain?

Back pain may be due to acute injuries, repetitive strain, or chronic diseases.

Acute back pain

Acute pain happens suddenly following an injury like a muscle strain, disc rupture, or other trauma.

Repetitive strain

If you repeatedly make the same movements over long periods, it can put excessive strain on parts of your spine. Poor posture can cause similar damage.

Chronic back pain

Chronic back pain is most often due to closely related conditions like degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, and bulging or  herniated discs, which can all cause spinal stenosis (spinal canal narrowing). Other chronic conditions include vertebral compression fractures (most common in patients with osteoporosis) and spinal tumors.

You may also have chronic back pain if your spine has structural abnormalities. Scoliosis (where the spine curves to the left or right) is the most common.

To determine what’s causing your back pain, the Center for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, team reviews your medical history, discusses your symptoms, and completes a physical exam. They may need to see diagnostic images like X-rays, a CT scan, or MRI to analyze the spine in more detail.

How can I ease my back pain?

People often turn to over-the-counter painkillers when they have back pain. These can help reduce discomfort and may be all you need if you also rest after injuries like minor muscle strains. However, this approach doesn’t address the pain’s underlying cause, so you might suffer recurring back pain.

The Center for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, team offers a range of treatments that help most patients recover from back pain. These include referrals for physical therapy and injections into the spine. Depending on your back pain’s cause, you might benefit from epidural, facet joint, or transforaminal steroid injections to reduce inflammation and pain.

Will I need surgery to relieve my back pain?

Most people don’t need surgery to treat back pain. However, the Center for  Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, specializes in using advanced techniques and technologies like the Mazor™ robotic-assisted system to address back pain when no other treatments help.

The team’s highly skilled neurosurgeons use minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) methods that only need small incisions. Endoscopic decompression removes bone, thickened ligaments, and other abnormalities to make space for your spinal nerves. Discectomy removes damaged discs, after which you might need fusion to stabilize the spine or an artificial disc replacement.

Call the Center for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, PLLC, to arrange a back pain evaluation or book an appointment online today.