Spondylolisthesis: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments in Delhi NCR

Spondylolisthesis is a condition of the spine in which one vertebral bone slips over another vertebral bone which ultimately causes nerve compression and leads to pain in your lower back and legs(sciatica). 

Many times, treatments without surgery like conservative line of management including medicines and exercises with physiotherapy leap a lot in spondylolisthesis . However, If you are dealing with severe grade spondylolisthesis, surgery is recommended by your spine specialist. 

Let us now learn about spondylolisthesis in detail. Dr. Sanyam Jain – Best Spine Specialist in DELHI-NCR  is one of the most recommended consultants for Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR.

Spondylolisthesis refers to a spinal condition in which one of the vertebrae (spinal bones) slips out to the lower vertebrae and it usually affects the lower back region. It ultimately results in pain and discomfort in the back and sometimes , it may lead to radicular symptoms in legs (sciatica pain). Sometimes, you may not experience the signs and symptoms of spondylolisthesis, but you still may have it.

Generally, the patients with grade 1 Spondylolisthesis don’t show any symptoms and Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR . The symptoms of Spondylolisthesis are as follows:

• Muscle spasms and pain in lower back
• Back stiffness
• Difficulty walking or standing for long periods
• Pain while forward bending or lifting some weight
• Numbness, weakness, or tingling in the foot
• Radicular pain in legs called sciatica
• Kyphosis- excessive outward curvature in the spine
• Difficulty performing basic tasks of daily living (walking, sitting, lifting, etc.)

• The causes of Spondylolisthesis vary depending on lifestyle, genetics and age.
• Children may suffer from this as a result of an injury or birth defect. However, people of all ages are at risk if the condition is caused by their genes. 
• Growing up quickly during adolescence may also help.
• Sometimes, it happens because aging in the spine leads to degeneration of the facet joint and leads to facet effusion and spondylolisthesis.
• Trauma is also a major contributing factor for spondylolisthesis.
• Playing various sports might also cause strain to overstretch and put pressure on the lower back like Weightlifting, Field and track, Gymnastics or Football

Clinical examination of the patient with reviewing all the spondylolisthesis symptoms of the patient are the primary steps in the diagnosis of spondylolisthesis treatment in delhi ncr. 

Lumbar spine X-rays are essential for checking the position of your vertebra. Your spine specialist will suggest CT SCAN AND MRI SCAN LUMBAR SPINE to check the pressure over nerves.

Basically, three different types of Spondylolisthesis are there:

Congenital Spondylolisthesis: Congenital Spondylolisthesi occurs when the bones of the spine grow abnormally as a result of birth defects resulting from injury or birth defects. And it happens when a child is born.

Later, it may lead to further slippage and spinal complications.

Isthmic Spondylolisthesis (LYTIC SPONDYLOLISTHESIS): It happens as a result of spondylolysis(pars fracture). The fracture in the pars area of the spine results in slippage of one bone over another.

Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: It is a result of the aging process that causes the facet joint in spine to degenerate and ultimately facet effusion occurs leading to joint loosening and Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR.

Less common types of spondylolisthesis are – :

Traumatic, Pathological and Post-Surgical Spondylolisthesis are The Less Common Types of Spondylolisthesis.

Grading of slip (spondylolisthesis) It is basically the percentage of anterior translation relative to the adjacent level. It means the percentage of slip of one bone over another.

Grade I spondylolisthesis is 1 to 25% slippage.

Grade II is up to 50% slippage

Grade III is up to 75% slippage

Grade IV is 76-100% slippage

The rehabilitation program for spondylolisthesis includes physical therapy to strengthen the back muscles, physiotherapy modalities for some days to reduce the acute pain in lower back with some medicines to reduce inflammation and pain. This program may include core balance exercises. waist flexion exercise and stretching or lengthening of the back, hip, and hamstring muscles. Low-impact exercise such as swimming and cycling is recommended. To reduce pain and promote healing

Here are some exercises that can help reduce your pain.

Pelvic tilt

• Crunches
• Double knee to chest
• Multifidus activation
• Hamstring stretch

If you’re having spondylolisthesis symptoms in spine, you must avoid sudden jerk in spine while traveling or lifting weight and fast motions. These aspects might put unwanted stress on the spine, which may intensify nerve compression. 

A few types of exercises that should be avoided are:

• High-impact exercises
• Exercises that need bending with straight knees
• Exercises that need twisting or bending of the lumbar spine

Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR depends on the degree of bone slippage, age and the symptoms of the disease he/she is suffering from. A spine specialist will analyze the risks and benefits and recommend the Best Spondylolisthesis Treatment for you. You may need surgery, medication, or physical therapy.

Rest- You need to take a break from sports and high-impact activities.

• Medication- The doctor will prescribe you some medicines which include nerve healing tablets , vitamin and calcium supplements and some pain killers.
• Spinal Injection- Your spine doctor may suggest spinal injection to provide direct medicines into the affected part of the spine. The spinal injection may be of different types like selective  nerve root block injection(SNRB) or Facet block injection.
• Physical therapy- A physical therapist will help you in learning specific exercises to brace your back and belly. Regular exercises might relieve pain after a month or two.
• Bracing- A brace may help you to balance your spine. It restricts your movement, so your fractures can heal properly.

Patients suffering from severe back pain associated with severe radicular symptoms in legs and inability to walk may require surgery if there is no improvement after all conservative management.  Surgery is recommended when the patients don’t respond to the non-surgical therapies or when it starts pressing against the nerves.

Surgical alignment of the distorted vertebra is needed when your bone has slipped so far down that the spine does not retort to non-surgical treatments. It is also necessary if the spinal bones are constantly pressing on the nerves.

The doctor will work to fix your spine with the help of metal screws and rods along with interbody PEEK cage insertion filled with bone graft. All these surgeries have three main goals, that is  to:

• Stabilize the spine
• Maintain the alignment of the spine
• Decompress the spinal nerves
• Achieve fusion between the bones.

The surgeries performed for Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR include TLIF (Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion), ALIF (Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion) and PLIF (Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion).

These are different approaches to reach the spine and decompress the nerves thus treating the spondylolisthesis symptoms.

Also, these surgeries are performed through many techniques like open(conventional method) surgery or minimally invasive spine surgery.

Mis- tlif i.e. Minimal invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion surgery is most commonly performed surgery for spondylolisthesis by Dr Sanyam Jain as it is microscopic assisted surgery with maximum benefits and minimum complications.

Dr. Sanyam Jain is one of the Best Doctors for Spondylolisthesis Treatment in Delhi NCR. He is a renowned spine surgeon for providing cost-effective solutions for all kinds of spine problems. Moreover, he treats his patients with compassion under technically competent care. To this date, he has performed many successful Spondylolisthesis Surgeries in Delhi NCR resulting in life-changing improvements.