Woodland Spine & Neck Treatments

Woodland Hospital offers a wide range of treatments for back and neck pains from injections through to complex spinal surgery. Your back or neck care specialist has access to the latest equipment to help diagnose the most likely cause of your symptoms. They will discuss with you your treatment options and recommend an individual care plan.

Back Pain Assessment Clinic

The Back Pain Assessment Clinic at Woodland Hospital offers fast and accurate diagnosis, expert advice and where appropriate, quick access to treatment for back pain, neck pain and sciatica. Unfortunately not all back and neck pains can be treated but you will be offered options to manage your pain and assist your general wellbeing.

Pain relieving injections

Pain relieving injections may relieve your back and neck pain and can also complement other back and neck pain treatments and therapies. Additionally they can provide important information about your pain and clarify diagnosis. Injections provide direct delivery of steroids or anaesthetic into your joints, ligaments, muscles or around your nerves. These injections may provide relief of pain and reduce inflammation whilst also allowing other therapies a better chance of working such as physiotherapy.

At Woodland Hospital, there are two injections commonly used which are performed as day case procedures so you can usually leave within a few hours.

Facet joint injections

Facet joints are weight bearing joints in the spine where two vertebrae sit on top of each other. They can become inflamed and painful. In some cases facet joint injections can relieve this pain and inflammation. They are often used as part of a combined therapy programme, including physiotherapy.

Epidurogram and nerve root blocks

Persistent back and leg pain can sometimes be linked to a trapped or inflamed nerve in your spinal column. A nerve root block can be injected into your back using diagnostic guidance to relieve this pain.

An epidurogram is a diagnostic procedure used to isolate the individual nerves in your spine, build a picture of your back and determine how effective the nerve root drugs will be. It involves injecting dye into your spine under x-ray guidance.

Physiotherapy

Our senior chartered physiotherapists offer evidence-based, tailored programmes for your individual needs. They will initially assess your pain and then work with you offering advice and a range of physiotherapy treatments to help manage or relieve your pain. Private patients can self-refer for a physiotherapy assessment. We also treat NHS patients to help manage their pain or to offer post-operative physiotherapy rehabilitation. A referral from an orthopaedic surgeon is required. 

Spinal and neck surgery

A wide range of surgical procedures are available at Woodland Hospital from lumbar decompression surgeries, including lumbar discectomy and lumbar laminectomy, to spinal fusion.

Often a combination of back surgeries are performed for example a lumbar laminectomy together with a lumbar discectomy or a spinal fusion following lumbar decompression surgery. It is important to understand the type of surgery your orthopaedic surgeon or neurosurgeon recommends for you, the benefits, potential risks and expected recovery time.

Your consultant will discuss the procedure in detail and will be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Spinal and neck surgery is performed to relieve pressure on a nerve root or the spinal cord, to strengthen and stabilise two or more adjacent vertebrae or to reduce a deformity such as scoliosis.

Procedures include:

  • Lumbar spinal decompression
    Lumbar spinal decompression helps reduce pain caused by pinched nerves (neural impingement). A small part of the bone over the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve root is removed to give the nerve root more space.
  • Lumbar discectomy
    Lumbar Discectomy surgery is designed to remove low back herniated disc material that is pressing on a nerve root or the spinal cord.
  • Lumbar laminectomy
    A lumbar laminectomy is also known as an open decompression and typically performed to alleviate pain caused by neural impingement that can result from lumbar spinal stenosis.
  • Spinal Fusion
    Spinal fusion surgery is to stop the motion at a painful vertebral segment, which should result in less pain generated from the joint.
  • Posterior fusion +/- instrumentation +/- decompression
    Posterior fusion surgery involves adding bone graft to an area of the spine to set up a biological response that causes the bone to grow between the two vertebral elements and thereby stop the motion at that segment.
  • Revision posterior fusion +/- instrumentation
    The role of spine fusion instrumentation is to provide additional spinal stability while helping the fusion set up.
  • Excision of prolapsed disc
    Occurs when one of the discs that sit between the bones of the spine (the vertebrae) is damaged and presses on the nerves.

What is spinal surgery?

Spinal surgery is a surgical treatment to manage a range of problems associated with your spine.  It diagnoses and treats spinal disorders and conditions to provide pain relief, improve functionality, and avoid permanent impairment.

Spinal surgery is used to treat:

  • Herniated or ruptured discs – where one or more of the discs that cushion your spine bones are damaged.
  • Spinal stenosis – is a narrowing of your spinal column that puts pressure on your spinal cord and nerves.
  • Spondylolisthesis - where one or more bones in your spine slip out of place.
  • Vertebral fractures - caused by osteoporosis or injury to your spinal bones.
  • Degenerative disc disease or spinal disc damage - can happen as you get older.

Neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons who specialise in spinal surgery perform back surgery.

Back surgery is considered when conservative treatments have not worked and your pain remains persistent and is impacting the quality of your life. It involves decompressing, moving, fixing, and replacing vertebral structures to relieve back pain.

What is the most common spine surgery?

There is some debate as to which is the most common spine surgery. Often the most frequently performed spinal surgeries are carried out together such as spinal decompression and fusion and microdiscectomy with lumbar decompression.

The three most common spine surgeries are:

  • Discectomy - removes a disk when it has herniated and is pressing on a nerve root or your spinal cord. Your disc may be replaced with an artificial disc to help preserve your flexibility. This procedure is often performed by the minimally invasive technique called microdiscectomy. Laminectomy and discectomy are frequently performed together.
  • Laminectomy - is also called spinal decompression. It is performed if you have spinal stenosis and involves removing part of your vertebral bone to open up your spinal column and relieve pressure on your nerves. Bone spurs, ligaments, or a section of the bone from the spine may be removed. If you have significant bone removal in a laminectomy, your spine may be destabilised and require spinal fusion.
  • Spinal fusion - permanently joins two or more vertebral bones in your spine to prevent unwanted movement from occurring. When the vertebrae are fused, the joint cannot move. This adds stability and can alleviate pain caused by vertebrae grinding together or moving and causing nerve pinching. It is typically done in small groups of vertebrae to ensure that you are still able to bend and move flexibly with few limitations.

Additional spinal surgeries include: vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, foraminotomy, disc replacement, and interlaminar implant.

What are the costs of a spinal surgery?

The cost of a spinal surgery with Ramsay Health Care will depend on your spinal condition or injury, your spinal procedure, the diagnostic tests required, and your chosen Ramsay hospital.

Following your consultation with a spinal surgeon, you will receive a written cost quote. This quotation is guaranteed for 60 days and includes unlimited aftercare. 

Ramsay is recognised by all major medical insurers. Most schemes cover spinal surgery. We advise you to obtain written authorisation from your medical insurance provider before your procedure.

We have a number of finance options to pay for your spinal surgery. These include: interest-free finance with no deposit and monthly instalments at 0% interest, a one-off pre-agreed payment for All-inclusive Total Care that comes with unlimited aftercare, and pay-as-you-go that offers flexible funding to pay as and when costs arise.

What is the recovery process after a spinal surgery?

The recovery process after a spinal surgery will depend on the exact surgery you have, the severity of your back condition, your pre-surgery fitness level, and your age. You should follow your spinal surgeon’s advice for recovery.

Recovery after a discectomy is generally shorter than a laminectomy or fusion surgery.

Full recovery after a microdiscectomy can take up to six weeks. Most people leave the hospital the same day or within 24 hours. A physiotherapist will give you advice on exercises to improve the strength and flexibility of the muscles around your spine. Exercising your spine will help you to recover sooner. You can expect to be off work for a week or two or longer if your job involves heavy lifting.

After a laminectomy or spinal fusion, you can go home after about one to four days. A physiotherapist will work with you to help you safely regain strength and movement. Most people go back to work after four to eight weeks, providing their job isn't too strenuous. If you have a strenuous job or it has lots of driving, you may need to stay off work for three to six months.

We will arrange a follow-up appointment with your spinal surgeon to see how you are getting on after your surgery.

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