POSTERIOR SURGICAL APPROACHES FOR CONGENITAL AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES OF THE LUMBAR SPINE

A complex approach to treatment of intervertebral disk herniae in patients with lumbar osteochondrosis has been developed. The possibilities of surgical and conservative methods have been assessed comparatively. The principally new system evidences that pain for involvement of spinal cord roots (or spinal nerves) are imaged on the skin. The points, functionally significant and strictly specific for each spinal nerve (root), have been revealed which being pressed are of maximal painfulness for the patient, thereby giving the possibility of orienting oneself with respect to the level and extent of involvement. Preparations have been selected which being injected intracutaneously (or subcutaneously) at the points, conforming to the root involved, produced a persistent focus of contrirritation, thereby blocking pain impulse conduction. As for additional techniques of complex treatment, the following ones were used depending on the disease character: orthesing (external fixation), traction therapy (skeletal traction), psychocorrection and background medicamental therapy.