Did You Know?

If you are in a lot of pain due to Radiculopathy and would like to go back to an active lifestyle, are there any surgeries that can be performed to reduce your pain that don’t require months of rehabilitation?

  • Endoscopic Discectomy
    This surgery would be performed to remove pressure from the affected nerve by clearing debris in the surrounding area. This surgery only requires small incisions and little recovery time. For more information on how an endoscopic discectomy procedure is performed click here.
  • Endoscopic Foraminotomy
    This is a minimally invasive surgery that can help increase the space in your foramen and decrease pressure on your nerves. This surgery can help if your pain is due to spinal degeneration. For more information about how an Endoscopic Foraminotomy procedure is performed click here
  • Microdiscectomy
    A Microdiscectomy is an open back procedure where a portion of your disc that is compressing your nerves or spinal cord is removed. With the endoscopic advancement in this surgery the traditional discectomy has become obsolete, try again

What is Radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy is not a specific condition and refers to chronic injuries of the spinal nerve roots caused by prolonged nerve irritation or compression, it is a term used to describe symptoms that are caused by nerves that are not working properly.

Symptoms of Radiculopathy

When you have Radiculopathy you may have pain that feels like a burning sensation as well as numbness and tingling. As this condition progresses you may also notice muscle weakness and muscle atrophy. These symptoms may start off mild and increase in time; pain should always be looked at when it first occurs to rule out other problems.

What Causes Radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy is caused when nerves are being pinched or compressed by debris or other spinal conditions. When this occurs there is less blood flow to the nerves which can lead to permanent nerve damage. This is why early diagnosis and treatment for radiculopathy is essential to restore normal root function.

Nerves can become compressed or pinched due to spinal stenosis, damaged inter-vertebral discs, degeneration of the spine, and spinal instabilities such as spondylolisthesis or scoliosis as well as a few other conditions.

Treatment Options for Radiculopathy

There are many different treatments and therapies that can be used to treat pain and symptoms that are associated with radiculopathy. The most effective treatment for inflamed or pinched nerves are the most commonly used ones: physical therapy, rest, medications such as oral pain medications, anti-inflammatory drugs, and muscle relaxants.

There are only a small amount of people with radiculopathy that do not respond well to these common conservative treatments and therapies; for these people surgery may be their only effective treatment. Two of these surgeries are an Endoscopic Discectomy and an Endoscopic Foraminotomy.

What is best to use will depend on the underlying cause for the patient’s radiculopathy symptoms, in the case of a endoscopic discectomy it can be used if pain is caused by a disc tear, a disc bulge, a herniated dis. An endoscopic foraminotomy is used to treat nerve pain that may be due to degenerative changes in the spine, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, failed surgery syndrome. For more information on these surgical procedures and to see if you are a candidate please click here.

How Can We Help

Atlantic Spinal Care has been successfully treating Radiculopathy in hundreds of patients every year. If you are interested in learning more about how Atlantic Spinal Care can help you relieve the pain you suffer as a result of Radiculopathy please consider one or more of the following options: