Low back pain

Low back pain is caused by many different problems, including:

• Arthritis or pain in the bones or where two bones meet in the spine
• Facet joint syndrome or a wearing down where bones connect in the spine
• Pinched nerves (radiculopathy) 
• Sciatica or when the nerve between the lower back and leg is pinched
• Spinal stenosis (nerve irritation caused by a narrowed spinal canal)
• Bulging disc 
• Herniated or damaged disc in the back 

Learn more about how low back pain is diagnosed.

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We always try to find the least invasive treatment plan or the one that requires either no surgery or the simplest surgery possible. Most people don't need surgery. 

If your quality of life continues to be affected after nonsurgical treatment, surgery may be the best choice. Our surgeons are experts in handling even the most challenging low back pain cases.

Examples of low back surgeries to reduce pain include:

• Discectomy: removing a piece of the lamina, a bony part of the spinal canal, to reduce nerve pressure 
• Foraminotomy: opening the foramen, the bony hole in the spinal canal, to reduce nerve pressure 
• IntraDiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET): inserting a needle into a disc to reduce disc bulging and irritation
• Nucleoplasty: removing inner disc material  
• Radiofrequency lesioning: changing how nerves send signals by removing them
• Spinal fusion: removing discs and fusing bones in the back to make the spine stronger 
• Spinal laminectomy: removing the lamina to make the spinal canal larger and reduce pressure