We know there’s a chance you’ve tried to manage your chronic back pain yourself. Alternatives like physical therapy and pain clinics are great options, but unfortunately they don’t always provide the back pain relief you need. The prospect of surgery is looming and your Google searches likely turned up an overwhelming amount of information.
We want you to know surgery doesn’t have to be incredibly invasive and require extensive recovery time, and you may be a candidate for a different option.
XLIF® – what is it and why should you ask about it?
XLIF stands for eXtreme lateral interbody fusion and it has been performed more than 100,000 times in the U.S. and abroad to successfully treat a range of spine conditions, including:
- Degenerative disc disease
- Slippage of one vertebra over another (Advanced degenerative disc disease with resultant degenerative spondylolisthesis)
- Change in the normal curvature of the spine (Advanced degenerative disc disease with resultant degenerative scoliosis)
What’s important to understand about XLIF is that it does not require the surgeon to access your spine from the front or back of your body, which presents less potential risk of nerve or blood vessel damage compared to traditional procedures. There is also less recovery time needed because your incision is small and fewer muscles are disrupted.
How does it compare to traditional lumbar surgery?
A real-life example (source)
When you think about chronic back pain sufferers, like most, you probably first think of adults. Claire was seventeen the first time she had a microdiscectomy (surgery to remove a herniated disc pushing against her nerves/spinal cord) after a volleyball injury. She was nineteen when a second injury forced another microdiscectomy, and twenty-three when she injured herself a third time picking up a child at work.
Her surgeon recommended XLIFas her next best option, realizing the previous two surgeries hadn’t taken care of Claire’s problem. Although Claire had some real fears about surgery, she couldn’t live with the chronic pain any longer. They went forward with the procedure, and now, Claire no longer fears another injury. In fact, within two months she was off pain meds entirely, and just five months after surgery she competed in her first triathalon.
“Chronic pain is the most depressing thing I think I’ve ever gone through. It changes your personality and your relationships with everybody,” Claire explained to us. “My surgery has allowed me to be the person I want to be, pain free.”
Back pain doesn’t discriminate. It affects people of all ages and activity levels. If you want to find a story like yours, check out our featured voices. You’ll also be able to request more information.
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