Lumbar Spinal Disc Herniation. Treatment in Germany

According to statistical information, 90% of people over the age of 30 have at least once complained of back pain. For some, the pain is short-term and infrequent, but sometimes it develops into a real problem, especially if it is associated with a spinal herniation. Its treatment, in turn, involves complex procedures that not all doctors can handle. Doctors in Germany provide a comprehensive approach to the treatment of spinal hernias.

Content

1. Symptoms that indicate lumbar disc herniation
2. Is treatment without surgery possible?
3. Treatment options available in Germany
4. Conservative treatment in Germany
5. Surgical treatment
6. Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery in Germany
7. Rehabilitation
8. Treatment in German hospitals
9. The cost of treatment in Germany
10. How to go to Germany for treatment?

Symptoms that indicate lumbar disc herniation

The medical picture of spinal herniation depends directly on the location of the problem area.

With cervical disc herniation, patients may complain of dragging pain in this area as well as in the back of the head. Sometimes a hernia in the neck area leads to numbness in the fingers, causes dizziness, severe headache, and an increase in blood pressure.

A hernia occurring in the thoracic region becomes the cause of chronic back pain. It can also be the cause of painful sensations in the heart and chest. The signs of such a spinal herniation quite often resemble the manifestations of intercostal neuralgia (chest wall pain) or angina pectoris (chest pain associated with poor blood flow to the heart muscle).

The patients suffering from lumbar disc herniation note the emergence of specific symptoms that include pain in the lumbar and sacral region of the spine, which may extend to the gluteal muscles and the back of the thighs or lower legs. In addition, lumbar disc herniation often provokes numbness and muscle weakness in the lower extremities, numbness in the fingers, problems with urinary and erectile function.

This might be helpful for patients to identify the potential spinal herniation and seek medical help sooner.

Is treatment without surgery possible?

Many patients think that if they go to a medical facility, they will be operated on for sure and surgical treatment for hernia will be performed in any circumstance. In Germany, there is a very strong emphasis on not automatically deciding in favor of surgical treatment. So, answering the question, treatment without spine surgery is practiced in most cases.

Naturally, sometimes patients insist on spine surgery, and then, surgical intervention is most likely to be performed, if indicated. However, even after spine surgery in Germany, you have to take care of your body.

In any way, doctors examine patients and have a conversation, and if necessary, prescribe additional consultations with specialists from related disciplines at the hospital. Doctors sometimes recommend spine surgery at an early stage or in the presence of a large spinal herniation, provided it cannot be treated by conservative methods.

The need for spine surgery in Germany is determined primarily by the symptoms of the herniation. If patients already have neurological symptoms, recent paresis, (like weakness of the extensors or flexors of the feet) and the patient himself notices this by a changed gait, then spine surgery is most likely to be indicated. In other cases, according to the medical guidelines, spine surgery is recommended for pain that has not been relieved by conservative treatment in Germany, while at least one non-surgical attempt at hernia treatment in Germany has been made. But mostly, spine surgery is needed in the presence of neurological symptoms, especially if they become more pronounced or worsen.

Aspinal herniation is very often found in patients who have no pain at all in the area of the spinal discs. If we invite 1,000 people to have an MRI today, we find many cases of herniated discs, even though these people have no spinal pain at all. This is especially true for people who have an active lifestyle and play sports. If a person's musculature is exercised, under certain circumstances they may not notice a small spinal herniation or protrusion at all.

Treatment options available in Germany

Spinal hernia treatment in Germany is carried out using conservative measures and minimally invasive surgery so that doctors can manage the disease and avoid complications that require surgery. To choose the best treatment option, German doctors evaluate all the diagnostic results, particularly the size and location of the spinal herniation.

If prolonged conservative treatment does not yield a positive result or if a patient suffers from serious neurological complications, doctors can insist on surgical treatment of spinal hernia.

If surgery is a necessity, an individual approach to the choice of surgical technique ensures maximum quality and minimal damage to healthy tissue. Doctors achieve these results by using endoscopic techniques of spine surgery. To make spine surgery as effective as possible, doctors use a precise navigation system during the procedures.

Conservative treatment in Germany

The comprehensive conservative treatment of spinal herniation allows German doctors to achieve a stable condition in 90% of cases. The therapy lasts on average 4 – 6 weeks and is aimed at eliminating pain and other symptoms caused by compression. Conservative treatment may include:

• Administration of analgesic and anti-inflammatory medications.
• Systemic or local use of steroid medications.
• The use of medications that relieve spasm of the muscles around the spine.
• Sessions of kinesiotherapy, reflexology, manual therapy, and massage.
• Individually selected complex therapeutic exercises.

During spinal herniation treatment in Germany, patients are necessarily taught proper body mechanics. The doctor explains in detail how to lift weights, do all kinds of exercises, and how to move the body in regular lifestyle settings.

Surgical treatment

Surgery for spinal herniation is practiced in German hospitals in cases where the disease can cause serious complications to the nerve tissues. German physicians perform more than 70,000 surgical procedures each year to remove changes related to the presence of hernia. The advantages of surgery for spinal hernia in Germany include:

• High level of effectiveness (up to 95%).
• Limited contraindications.
• The use of the sparing techniques.
• Shortened rehabilitation period.
• Reduced risk of complications and unwanted side effects.

Spine surgery is a more effective and reliable way to get rid of herniated changes in the spine. With all medical manipulations, surgery eliminates the underlying cause of the painful condition.

Removal of a herniated spine in Germany can be carried out in several different ways, the main ones are discectomy and different kinds of minimally invasive surgery.

During a discectomy, the doctor removes the damaged intervertebral disc and replaces it with a prosthesis. Such surgery prevents compression of the neurovascular bundle.

Minimally invasive surgery involves the use of high-precision equipment and is very popular, as it is well tolerated by patients and provides a significantly shorter recovery period.

Minimally Invasive Spinal Surgery in Germany

Minimally invasive spine surgery in Germany is usually performed under general anesthesia. The doctor inserts small instruments through several puncture wounds, so large incisions are not necessary. The entire procedure is monitored, and the image is streamed to the screen in online mode. There are different kinds of minimally invasive operations, and some of them are reviewed below.

With endoscopic microdiscectomy, doctors can remove herniated bulges on two adjacent segments. Already one week after the surgery, the patient can sit upright, and 2 – 3 weeks later they can start working physically.

Chemonucleolysis is a non-surgical procedure that involves dissolving the problematic part of the disc through the injection of a special enzyme. With chemonucleolysis, it is possible to get rid of a spinal hernia, if it is at an early stage of development. To achieve a therapeutic effect, doctors liquefy the contents of the hernia and then pump it out.

Percutaneous laser disc decompression is also practiced in the treatment of the spinal hernia at an early stage of development. In this case, the contents of the hernia are vaporized with a laser, and pain endings are also denervated. The therapy promotes the active regeneration of cartilage tissue.

Lumbar spine dynamic stabilization that is also known as minimally invasive fixation, has a goal of expansion of the spinal canal, neutralization of compression of the spinal cord, and nerve endings. Due to this stabilization, the spine is fixed in a painless position that allows unpleasant symptoms to be eliminated.

Prosthetic biological repair is an innovative kind of minimally invasive spine surgery. For this, a special prosthesis is used, which is a biological analog of the intervertebral disc. Such a structure grows into the natural tissues, which allows to relieve compression and get rid of the disease.

Autologous intervertebral disc cell transplantation can stop the degenerative process and start the recovery of the intervertebral discs. The doctor takes healthy disc tissue cells, and then in the laboratory specialists multiply the obtained material. It is then transplanted into the affected intervertebral disc, which promotes the formation of new, healthy tissues.

Thanks to the skill of medical neurosurgeons, surgical treatment of spinal herniation in German hospitals is successful in 98% of cases.

Rehabilitation

After herniated disc treatment, the patient needs comprehensive rehabilitation. It is aimed at reducing postoperative discomfort in the lumbar spine, early recovery, and return to the normal lifestyle. Doctors at German hospitals practice an individual approach to rehabilitation, taking into account the type of spinal intervention performed, the patient's age, and physical features. Rehabilitation therapists, as well as doctors of related fields (including masseurs, psychologists, etc.), help to speed recovery.

At first, the patient needs bed rest. Afterward, the patient begins to do simple physical exercises under the supervision of doctors. This allows maintaining muscle tone and improving blood flow. An important role is played by massages, which correct blood circulation problems and mobility disorders and allow the strengthening of the back muscles. Additionally, doctors prescribe such physiotherapy sessions as laser and ultrasound therapy.

Treatment in German hospitals

In Germany, lumbar disc herniation is usually treated with non-surgical treatment methods, which effectively reduces pain and general discomfort and stiffness of movement caused by spinal hernia. In more serious cases, when conservative methods do not produce a positive result, minimally invasive operations are applied.

Experienced surgeons at German clinics perform such spine surgeries with the best possible results so that every patient gets the desired healing with a minimal recovery period.

Here is a list of German hospitals where you can undergo treatment of lumbar spinal disc herniation:

• Hospital Neuwerk Moenchengladbach.
• Vivantes Auguste-Viktoria Hospital Berlin.
• Catholic Clinic Koblenz-Montabaur.
• Beta Klinik Bonn.
• University Hospital Freiburg.

More information about German hospitals for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation is available on the Booking Health website.

The cost of treatment in Germany

The basic rates for medical services are set by the Federal Ministry of Health of the country. The financial department of the hospital where the treatment takes place, based on the mentioned rates, determines the ultimate cost of treatment, taking into account several factors, such as the treatment modality, diagnosis, comorbidities, the patient's age, the doctor's position, and degree.

For you to have an idea about how much money one should have to undergo treatment in Germany, we have listed the cost of treatment with different procedures below:

• The prices for diagnostics start at 488 EUR.
• The prices for discectomy and prosthesis start at 7,577 EUR.
• The prices for minimally invasive procedures start at 3,079 EUR. (the price rises with the number of segments involved in the intervention).

Please contact Booking Health for more price-related information.

How to go to Germany for treatment?

So, how exactly one could arrange lumbar disc herniation treatment in Germany? The most common, and most importantly reliable way, is doing it through a medical tourism agency.

Booking Health has been working with foreign patients to organize diagnosis and treatment in the best German hospitals for years now. Booking Health closely cooperates with the best German hospitals, which makes it possible to organize your treatment in the shortest time possible.

Fill in the request form on the Booking Health website and our staff will answer all your questions and guide you through the process of hospital selection for the treatment of herniation of the lumbar spine.

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed