Back And Leg Pain

Patients with back and/or leg pain should be evaluated for issues with the back (thoracic or lumbar spine). The thoracic spine is made up of 12 vertebrae and the lumbar spine is made up of 5 vertebrae. The spinal cord runs through the middle of the thoracic spine and ends around T12-L1. The spinal canal extends down to the sacrum and houses individual nerve roots. These individual nerve roots exit the spinal canal at each lumbar level. Compression of either the spinal cord/canal or the nerve roots can result in back pain, leg pain, tingling, numbness, and/or weakness. This often occurs due to a disc herniation, stenosis (thickened ligament), or instability of the spine such as with spondylolisthesis, scoliosis, or kyphosis. Severe compression of the spinal cord in the thoracic spine can result in leg weakness and/or loss of balance.‘Endoscopic Spinal Surgery’ is a revolutionary technique in which the routine spinal surgeries are performed using a ‘key-hole’. The procedures that can be performed with this cutting-edge technology are discectomies (for slipped disc), decompression (for lumbar canal stenosis) and spinal fusion (for spinal instability).