What is Laminectomy?
If you have severe compression of your nerves in your lower back, you may be experiencing symptoms of your discomfort particularly in your lower back, hamstrings and it can even go down to the calf and feet. This disorder is called Spinal Stenosis, in medical terms, it is characterized by the narrowing of the spinal canal. As we age, we develop disk degeneration, ligament spur formation and ligament hypertrophy. This further decreases the size of the spinal canal in the affected people.
This disorder is treated using laminectomy. A laminectomy is a surgical procedure that is performed on your back to help remove pressure and compression off of your nerves. In this process, a portion of a vertebra called the lamina, which is the roof of the spinal canal is removed. It is one of a major spine operarion.Normally, in this process, less than a 1-inch incision is made in the middle of the back. Some people though can have compression or pressure in few different areas. The size of the compression is directly related to the number of areas involved. Hence, the lower the amount of area you have compressed, the lower the incision.
Physiotherapy after Laminectonomy:-
Post surgery, you have to be very careful about bending, weight-lifting and twisting. During the first few months post-surgery, it’s highly recommended that you avoid these activities. This will enable you to regain the normal positioning of the back. The most important exercise that your Physiotherapist in Vasant Kunj will suggest to you is to practice breathing. This involves lying straight on your back and with hands-on ach practice diaphragmatic breathing. This involves breathing in from the nose and breathing out from the mouth.
The next exercise that is beneficial is the ankle pump exercise. Since post-surgery, the patient is advised bed rest for 7 days, it can cause clots and affect blood circulation in the legs. Hence doing ankle pump exercise will help you prevent clotting and regulate blood circulation in the legs. This further prevents muscle shortening and improves calf muscles flexibilty.
The exercises further prescribed by the physiotherapist’s post-laminectomy are age-specific mobility exercises. Going further in the following weeks, the exercises prescribed are glutes and quads exercises. This will enable the muscles to pick up accurate weight while physical movement so that there is the least stress on the back.
