Try MILD to Alleviate Your Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Pain

Does your lower back pain keep you from being active or productive? Does it come with pain, numbness, or weakness in your legs, too? You could have lumbar spinal stenosis. Lumbar spinal stenosis happens when your spinal canal gets narrower, resulting in nerve compression. 

Lumbar spinal stenosis isn’t really a condition by itself. Instead, it’s the result of a variety of other conditions that cause spinal canal narrowing, compressing the nerves within. You might experience spinal stenosis in your lower back because of:

• Herniated discs
• Degenerative disc disease
• Bone spurs
• Spinal tumors
• Thickened ligaments
• Osteoarthritis 

No matter what’s causing your spinal stenosis, the resulting symptoms can harm your well-being. Finding a treatment that works can also be challenging. Still, major surgery is rarely necessary thanks to modern minimally invasive treatments at Pain Management Associates LLC in Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Pain management experts Haddis T. Hagos, MD, and Brent Earls, MD, use evidence-based treatments to reduce your pain and help you recover so you can have a better quality of life. If your lumbar spinal stenosis doesn’t improve with conservative treatments and home care, our team can help you compare different treatments for your pain including minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD®). 

Understanding MILD

MILD is a quick and minimally invasive surgery that generally takes just one hour. It works best for cases of lumbar spinal stenosis caused by excessive ligament tissue. With only local anesthesia, MILD involves a 1cm incision in your back. The incision is small enough that you’ll only need a bandaid – no stitches or staples – after your procedure. 

Your surgeon uses slender tools through the incision to remove small pieces of extra tissue, like bone or ligament, to make more space in the affected spinal canal. For guidance, your surgeon uses an X-ray imaging device so they can see what they’re doing without making a wider incision in your back.
How MILD compares to similar treatments

MILD is a great alternative to other popular treatments for pain originating in the spine, including epidural steroid injections, spacer implants, and open surgery (e.g., spinal fusion). Consider the many benefits that make it stand out:

• No general anesthesia
• No overnight hospital stay
• Quick recovery time
• Lasting results
• Extremely low complication risk
• No stitches
• No implants
• Few post-procedure restrictions

You can explore the full spectrum of low back pain treatments available at Pain Management Associates LLC, and find out which are best for your specific case. 

Anticipating your recovery

Because MILD is minimally invasive, the recovery time is far lower than other spinal surgeries. Most people can resume their normal activities after just 24 hours. You won’t need to worry about getting stitches removed at a second visit, though your surgeon might want to follow up with you. 

You might need to continue physical therapy or other treatments to get optimal results. Our experts at Pain Management Associates LLC give you individualized recommendations and support based on your needs. 

In long-term follow-up studies, patients who underwent MILD experienced statistically significant pain relief and a notable reduction in opioid pain medication use. The treatment might also help you avoid major spine surgery in the future. 

Get in touch with us today

For more information about the MILD procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis, call us at Pain Management Associates LLC or request an appointment online today.