It is not usual for patients to experience some degree of discomfort after having discectomy surgery. While this discomfort is usually within the lower spine area, it sometimes extends to the hips. If this is what you are experiencing, this article suggests possible reasons your hips still hurt after discectomy surgery.
Misdiagnosis
One possibility is that the original source of your pain was not accurately determined. There may also be a secondary source of your discomfort that was not discovered during your initial diagnosis. Because of the proximity of the hips to the lower spine, it is entirely possible you may have an issue with the parts that support your hips. You may also have a strained hip muscle or even an infection in your hip area.
Piriformis Muscle Irritation
The piriformis muscle is located near the sciatic nerve, which is often irritated by a herniated disc. In some cases, this muscle also becomes irritated. This sometimes happens during discectomy surgery, although it may be an issue post-surgery as well. Should this happen, you may have pain that extends to the hip area until the irritated muscle is relieved. Your doctor may order an MRI scan after your spinal disc surgery to confirm this muscle is actually irritated.
Lingering Sciatic Nerve Irritation
The sciatic nerve is sometimes still irritated after a discectomy to the point where lingering symptoms are experienced. Since this nerve starts at the base of the spine and works its way downward, discomfort can extend to any point along the nerve's pathway, which could include your hips. In this instance, the symptoms will likely include numbness and tingling sensations extending to the hips. These are classic sciatica symptoms, so they are usually a reliable indicator of the source of the problem.
Muscles Weakened by Surgery
It is also possible that muscles supporting your hips and spine may become weak during or just after surgery. This can also happen if you are not very active post-surgery. It is understandable to take it easy after a discectomy or even a minimally invasive microdiscectomy. However, it is equally important to work with a physical therapist to strengthen muscles that support both your spine and hips.
Too Much Rest
One other possibility is that resting too much after surgery may weaken muscles near or around your hips. In this case, the discomfort should go away once you start getting up and around again. If it does not, follow the advice below.
Talk to Your Doctor
Make sure to talk to your doctor if you experience any unusual discomfort after your discectomy surgery. This includes any pain that might be extending to your hips. This way, your doctor can determine if the source of those symptoms was misdiagnosed. Depending on the source of your discomfort, treatment may involve:
• Physical therapy
• Gentle stretching that may include regular or seated hamstring stretches
• Medication to ease discomfort from inflammation
• Posture improvement recommendations to reduce stress on the affected muscle groups
Even though discectomy surgery is a common and generally quite successful procedure, a hole is frequently left in the outer wall of the disc. In fact, patients with these large holes in their discs are more than twice as likely to reinjure themselves by having what is known as a reherniation. These reherniations often require additional surgery or even fusions. Fortunately, there is a new treatment specifically designed to close the large holes that are often left in spinal discs after discectomy surgery. Barricaid is a bone-anchored device proven to reduce reherniations, and 95 percent of Barricaid patients did not undergo a reoperation due to reherniation in a 2-year study timeframe. This treatment is done immediately following the discectomy—during the same operation—and does not require any additional incisions or time in the hospital.
If you have any questions about the Barricaid treatment or how to get access to Barricaid, ask your doctor or contact us at 844-288-7474.
For full benefit/risk information, please visit: https://www.barricaid.com/instructions.
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