Recommended treatment for radiculopathy depends on several factors. These include how severe the condition is and its underlying cause. At the UK HealthCare Comprehensive Spine Center, our team of experts works together to create the treatment plan that best fits your specific needs.
These artificial anti-inflammatory medicines mimic the effects of cortisol, a hormone naturally produced by the adrenal glands. Corticosteroids help alleviate pain and stiffness by reducing inflammation.
Corticosteroids can be given in various ways, including injections, by mouth, application to the skin or intravenous (IV) delivery. They are often used short-term to manage severe pain flares, but they can also be used long-term alongside other medicines for certain conditions.
Oral steroids are a type of corticosteroid that can temporarily reduce inflammation around the spine to help alleviate pain. Oral steroids can be used on a short-term basis for severe pain flares. Or they can be used on a long-term basis with other medicines for some specific conditions.
These common, over-the-counter medicines target chemicals responsible for pain, inflammation and fever, reducing their production to ease these symptoms.
Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB) or naproxen sodium (Aleve) might be helpful, but you should follow the instructions carefully. Using OTC pain relievers for too long or incorrectly can have serious side effects. If these don't relieve your pain, your doctor can recommend stronger prescription pain relievers.
Physical therapy plays a crucial role in effectively managing chronic back pain. At UK HealthCare, physical therapy is an integral part of many spine treatment plans. Our spine specialists work with therapy experts who specialize in musculoskeletal care. Together, they create a plan tailored for your unique needs.
A physical therapist can:
- Create a personalized exercise plan to enhance your flexibility and range of motion
- Strengthen your core muscles to maintain proper alignment
- Improve your posture
- Educate you on correct movement techniques and modifications to use during pain episodes, helping you to engage in your favorite activities while reducing the likelihood of recurring back pain
If conservative treatments haven’t helped your pain, a targeted injection might offer short-term relief. This injection includes a steroid to reduce swelling around the nerves and a numbing medicine to ease pain right away. While a steroid injection is effective, it's important to note that the pain relief typically lasts for one to two months.
At UK HealthCare, interventional pain management is an integral part of many spine treatment plans. Our spine specialists work with pain management experts specializing in musculoskeletal care to create a plan tailored for each patient's needs.
If symptoms don’t improve with conservative, minimally invasive treatment options, or if a pinched nerve is causing severe symptoms, surgery may be recommended.
This surgery is performed to stop movement between two or more vertebrae in the spine.
Before your spinal fusion, you will receive general anesthesia so that you sleep during the procedure. To perform this surgery, your surgeon may access your spine in one of three ways:
- On your back or neck above the spine: You will lie on your stomach, and your surgeon will make an incision over the area and move the muscles and tissues to the side to access the spine.
- On your side: If spinal fusion is being performed on your lower back, you may lie on your side to give the surgeon the best angle to access the spine in that area.
- On the front of the neck: If spinal fusion is on the neck, your surgeon may make an incision on the front part of your neck near the side.
The vertebrae will be fused together with:
- Bone graft placed along the back of the spine
- Bone graft material added between two or more vertebrae
- Implantable cages used between the vertebrae
The doctor may also stabilize the vertebrae with cages, plates, rods or screws until the grafts heal. The surgery usually takes three to four hours.
After your surgery, you will remain in the hospital for three or four days, and you will receive pain medicine to keep you comfortable. You may wear a back brace when you leave the hospital.
After surgery, you will need to stay off work for about four to six weeks as you recover, and you will be limited to very light activity. You may need physical therapy.
If you have tried other pain relief treatments and your spinal pain hasn’t improved, spinal fusion may work as a pain relief option. However, spinal fusion doesn’t provide pain relief for everyone, and it can increase pain.
During this procedure, your surgical team will remove all or part of a disk that provides support between the vertebrae in your spine.
Before your diskectomy, you will receive general anesthesia so you will sleep during the procedure. Your surgeon will make a 1- to 2-inch incision in your back over the damaged disk and will move the muscles and tissues to the side to access your spine, and a small portion of the vertebrae is removed to access the disk. The surgeon cuts a small hole in the affected disk and removes all or part of the damaged disk. The surgery usually takes up to two hours.
After your anesthesia wears off, your surgeon will encourage you to take short walks with assistance. If you had a minimally invasive (endoscopic) diskectomy, you may go home the same day. If your surgery was open, you may remain in the hospital for a few days.
Following surgery, most patients experience pain relief, improved movement, and relief from numbness. If you already had nerve damage before undergoing surgery, you may not experience improvement to pain, numbness or weakness. Recovery usually takes one to four weeks, and you should limit bending, lifting and twisting during this time.
During this procedure, your surgical team will remove damaged lamina — part of a vertebra in your spine.
Before your laminectomy, you will get general anesthesia so you will sleep during the procedure. Your surgeon will make an incision in your neck or back and move the ligaments, muscles and tissues to the side to access the lamina bones. During the procedure, your surgeon may remove:
- All or part of the lamina bones on each side of your spine
- The sharp part of your spine (the spinous process)
- Bone spurs
- Disk fragments
- Other soft tissues
In some cases, spinal fusion may be performed at the same time. The surgery usually takes one to three hours.
After your anesthesia wears off, your surgeon will encourage you to take short walks with help (if you didn’t have spinal fusion). You may remain in the hospital for a few days.
After surgery, many patients will experience either some or complete symptom relief, and you should be able to resume light activity after about four weeks.
The surgeon may choose to use screws and rods to stabilize the spine during the procedure, in addition to grafted bone. If bone spurs are present, they will be removed in addition to the problematic disk.