Most spine pain gets better without surgery. When surgery is needed, you should understand why.

Canal Stenosis

Narrowing of the spinal canal. Symptoms are typically dynamic — worse with standing and walking, eased by sitting or bending forward.

Disc HerniationCommonly called a slipped disc

The soft centre of an intervertebral disc protrudes through its outer layer and can compress a nearby spinal nerve. The commonest cause of sciatica.

Osteoporosis

Reduced bone density that raises fracture risk. Vertebral compression fractures are a commonly under-diagnosed presentation, particularly in post-menopausal women.

Spinal TraumaFractures and injuries of the spine

Injury to the spinal column — the bones, discs, ligaments, or spinal cord — as a result of a fall, road traffic accident, or other acute event. Ranges from stable vertebral fractures that heal with bracing to unstable injuries that need urgent surgical stabilisation.

Spinal TuberculosisKoch's spine

Tuberculous infection of the spine. Still prevalent in India. Often presents insidiously as slowly-worsening back pain rather than the classical fever-and-weight-loss picture.

Spondylodiscitis

Bacterial infection of an intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae. Uncommon but important — needs prompt diagnosis and prolonged antibiotic therapy.

Spondylolisthesis

One vertebra slips forward on the one below. Ranges from an incidental radiological finding to severe mechanical low back pain.

Spondylosis

Age-related wear of the spine's discs, joints and ligaments. Prevalence rises significantly after age 50, but imaging findings do not always correlate with symptoms.

Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion(ACDF)(ACDF)

Removes a damaged cervical disc from the front of the neck and stabilises the segment with a spacer and plate. First-line surgical option for many cervical radiculopathies.

Endoscopic Spine Surgery(Endoscopic Spine Surgery)

A minimally invasive technique that uses a small endoscope — a thin tube with a camera — to reach and treat spine pathology through an incision of about 8 mm. Best-suited to specific disc and stenosis pathologies where target anatomy is well-defined on imaging.

Laminectomy(Laminectomy)

Removes part of the vertebral bone (lamina) to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves. The primary surgical option for symptomatic lumbar canal stenosis.

Microdiscectomy Surgery(Microdiscectomy)

Microscopic removal of a herniated disc fragment that is compressing a nerve root. Small incision, typically 1–2 nights in hospital, early return to sedentary work.

Spinal Fusion Surgery

Joins two or more vertebrae to eliminate painful motion in a diseased segment. PLIF, TLIF and OLIF approaches are used depending on anatomy and pathology.

Vertebroplasty(Vertebroplasty)

Bone cement is injected through a needle into a fractured vertebra to stabilise it. Most often used for osteoporotic compression fractures with persistent pain.