Indirect decompression is a device utilized to relieve pain by acting as an extension blocker in the spine. It relieves pressure on the affected nerves in the same way a patient feels relief in a seated or flexed position.
Your spinal canal is a narrow path running through the entire spine, housing the spinal cord. Like a long stretch of electric wire, your spinal cord is composed of many individual nerve fibers pressed together into a tight bundle, branching out in dozens of nerve roots that give way to the peripheral nervous system that reaches out to the furthest fingers and toes.
Through disease, wear and tear, or old age, the spinal canal can be compromised or become narrow over time, putting pressure on specific nerve roots. This is called spinal stenosis. Severe spinal stenosis is usually treated through surgical decompression, wherein a surgeon uses specialized tools to remove excess bone, ligament, or tissue pressing on your spinal cord. This new and minimally invasive procedure has a rapid recovery time and involves no destabilization of the spine. Spinal surgery techniques focus on alleviating nerve compression without directly removing the compressive tissue, thereby reducing the risk of spinal nerve tissue injury.
Global spinal alignment procedures are a category of indirect decompression strategies in spinal surgery. They facilitate the dorsal migration of the spinal cord away from areas of anterior compression, thereby broadening surgical treatment options and minimizing the risk of injury to spinal nerve tissues.
Indirect Decompression Candidates for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Talk with the doctors about this procedure if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Leg, buttock, and groin pain.
- You have been diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis, a condition affecting the lumbar spine.
- Numbness, weakness, cramping, or stiffness in the legs or buttocks.
- Difficulty walking or standing but experience relief in the seated or flexed position.
When is Indirect Spinal Decompression Procedure Used in Treatment?
Indirect spinal decompression is often chosen for patients with spinal stenosis or spondylolisthesis who may not need extensive decompression, such as cases with mild to moderate symptoms, or when patients explicitly seek a less invasive solution compared to open surgery.
The indirect spinal decompression procedure is also considered when the main goal is to avoid destabilizing the spine, or minimize recovery time, as these techniques tend to be easier on the body than more invasive surgical options.
Indirect decompression achieves pain relief by creating more space in the spinal canal, reducing the risk of long-term instability, and enabling faster recovery by leading to a quicker return to daily activities with fewer complications due to its minimally invasive nature.
Pain-Relieving Benefits
- Available in multiple sizes to accommodate varying patient anatomy.- Patients may be able to reduce oral pain medications and their side effects. Radiographic and clinical outcomes have shown significant improvements in postoperative canal cross-sectional area (CSA) expansion rates and JOA scores.
- Ensures controlled movement and minimizes post-procedure complications.
- Effective alternative to failed conservative treatments and laminectomy too aggressive.
- Simple outpatient procedure with rapid recovery time and no destabilization of the spine.
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What to Expect During and After the Minimally Invasive Nature of Indirect Decompression
Indirect decompression techniques include lateral lumbar interbody fusion, spinal fusion surgeries, physical distraction between vertebrae through special interspinous devices or intra-articular spacers, physical manipulation (traction-based decompression), and finally, laminectomy or laminoplasty (removing or adding to your spinal bone tissue). Non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures, such as physical traction-based decompression, require no prep and no long-term recovery. Pain relief is often immediate, but temporary.
Minimally invasive procedures can usually be performed while the patient is awake, and include some forms of spinal fusion or the installation of interspinous devices. Regional anesthesia is required, but patients can remain conscious and be walked through every step of the process.
In severe cases, general anesthesia may be necessary. These include direct decompression surgeries, freeing the spinal cord from surrounding compressive tissues.
After surgery, patients need to remain in observation to minimize the risk of infection, bleeding, or spinal injury. For more invasive or direct methods of decompression, recovery can take a few days. After surgical treatment, physical therapy is a common next step to help minimize the risk of future spinal health problems, especially in older patients. An active and healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of spinal stenosis-related pain symptoms, as well as other back pain complaints.
Why Choose PMIR Medical Center for Spinal Treatment?
At PMIR Medical Center, our medically-trained pain management specialists understand spinal decompression and how it can affect every aspect of life. We use standards of excellence, state-of-the-art equipment, and innovative procedures to develop customized integrative treatment plans to help you achieve long-term, sustainable pain relief by addressing spinal nerve tissues.
Our team of anesthesiologists, neurologists, and support staff are unmatched in the industry for developing customized, comprehensive treatment plans to safely and effectively reduce and manage chronic pain levels. To learn more about how we can help you return to a pain-free, productive lifestyle, schedule an appointment with a PMIR Medical Center physician today.
Now Offering The Vertiflex Procedure
Superion Indirect Decompression System
The Vertiflex Procedure is redefining lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) treatment by incorporating indirect spinal decompression procedures, providing patients with a clinically proven, minimally invasive solution that delivers long-term pain relief. Clinically proven for LSS, this evidence-based procedure underwent one of the most rigorous studies on pain-related lumbar stenosis, is FDA-approved, and is backed by a five-year clinical study of successful patient-reported outcomes. Designed with patient safety and comfort in mind, this is a simple outpatient procedure with rapid recovery time and no destabilization of the spine. To learn more about The Vertiflex Procedure and determine if you are a good candidate, contact us today.
