Arthritis
Pain from arthritis comes from the wearing down of cartilaginous tissues that insulate joints, allowing bones (or bone spurs) to come into direct contact with one another during motion.
What is Arthritis?
Symptoms
- Back pain that comes and goes
- Spinal stiffness in the morning, such as after getting out of bed or after physical activity
- Pain, tenderness, or numbness in the neck
- Lower back pain that runs down into the buttocks, thighs, or pelvic area
- Pain or tenderness in the shoulders, hips, knees, or heels
- A crunching feeling or sound of bone rubbing against bone
- Weakness or numbness in legs or arms
- Limited range of motion and difficulty bending or walking
Arthritis can affect any part of the body, even the spine. It occurs when the cartilage in the joints or discs is worn down as a result of wear and tear, aging, injury, or misuse. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, also includes loss of cartilage, overgrowth of bone, and the formation of bone spurs. This condition causes the bones under the cartilage to rub together, resulting in pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint but most often occurs in the hips, knees, or spine.
In the spine, osteoarthritis can cause stiffness and pain in the neck or in the lower back. Cervical arthritis (also called cervical spondylosis) affects the upper spine and neck. Lumbar or lumbosacral arthritis affects the lower back and pelvic area. Ankylosing spondylitis is a severe form of spinal arthritis, causing the spinal vertebrae themselves to start to fuse together.
Arthritis strikes one in five adults and one in 300,000 children. It is the leading cause of disability in the United States.
Our Approach
Like disc degeneration, arthritis also leads to bone spurs, which can cause nerve impingement and severe pain. The AccuCision® Spine procedure uses the most minimally invasive techniques available to treat arthritis. During the procedure, we enter through a tiny 7 to 15 mm incision to shave the bone spurs off, freeing the nerve and dissipating pain without causing body trauma. And because we do not use expandable retractors, like many others who claim to do minimally invasive surgery, we avoid cutting muscle altogether, so you can get back to life as quickly as possible.