Question:
Hello! I am 16 years old, playing hockey and doing track and field.
I've
been diagnosed with spondylosis at L5 and the doc suggests surgery.
He didn't
explain what it is about and if I would be able to practice sports
again
Thank
you very much.
Mechi
Answer:
Dear
Mechi,
Spondylosis
is degenerative arthritis of the joints between the centra of the
spinal vertebrae.
In this
condition the interfacetal joints are not involved.
Lumbar
spondylosis usually produces no symptoms. When back or sciatic pains
are symptoms, lumbar spondylosis is usually an unrelated finding.
Surgery
is indicated only for complications (eg, for impingement-documented
sciatica that is unresponsive to 2 days of absolute bed rest) of lumbar
spondylosis.
Most
cases of spondylosis are mild and require little if any treatment.
The more
common non-surgical treatments are:
-Acupuncture
-Bed Rest
-Cervical Traction
-Chiropractic
-Lifestyle Modification
-Muscle Relaxants
-Narcotics
-NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
-Physical Therapy
-Spinal Injections
Seldom
is Surgery Needed
Very
few patients with spondylosis require surgery.
In most
cases, non-surgical treatments work.
However,
some patients suffer neurologic deficit - such as weakness, incontinence,
or develop structural spinal instability.
The cause
of severe symptoms often determines the type of surgery needed.
For example,
it may be necessary to surgically remove bone spurs or disc tissue
compressing spinal nerves or causing spinal cord compression.
Depending
on the extent of the surgery, spinal fusion to stabilize the spine
may be necessary. Fortunately, newer minimally invasive spine surgical
techniques greatly benefit patients. Minimally invasive spine surgery
enables patients to return to normal activities sooner.
We would
not recommend playing hockey and doing track and field with lumbar
spondylosis.
