If you are thinking it’s the drug manufacturing that is outsourced, you are wrong. Nor is it the bookkeeping that is outsourced. What is outsourced is the patient himself or rather he chooses to have his treatment done offshore. The driving cause is the high cost of health care in his home country. Or in certain other cases, the long waits before he can get the needed treatment.

So, medical outsourcing or offshore medical which is also commonly known as medical tourism is the practice of seeking health care abroad. But, who provides these outsourcing services?

There are lots of offshore health care providers in the form of hospitals and clinics participating in this business. Some of them can be found on the other side of the border while others may be a few oceans across. Examples include those in India, Singapore, Thailand, Mexico, Turkey, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, and so on. Some of them give excellent service – even superior to what you can get at home using the latest technology and by world-renowned surgeons – while others may not be as great. To show their commitment towards top quality, many providers also have international accreditations like JCI, JACHO, ISO, etc. Some have strategic alliances with well-known US health care providers like Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Medical International and Johns Hopkins.

International health care providers are able to provide you with high quality treatment at an affordable cost mainly because of low labor cost, low administrative cost, low malpractice cost and low living cost in their country. That’s the same reason why IT companies started outsourcing.

Now the obvious question arises – how do you find the right provider for your needs? The answer is do research. There are lots of resources available – news, articles, blogs, forums, testimonials, etc. Many people find it useful to work with a health tourism facilitator or medical tourism facilitator like Healthbase (http://www.healthbase.com). They are specialized facilitators who carefully screen and partner with international healthcare providers that meet up to the high standards of patients from the US, the UK, Canada, etc. They also help patients with all the logistics involved in getting a surgery abroad.

There are a few other things that you will need to do for a successful experience in getting your surgery overseas. Getting into the details of all of them is beyond the scope of this article. Here are some of them: doing a thorough research on the surgery in question to establish your suitability for it as well as for medical tourism, getting to learn about your medical travel destination, arranging all your medical records and sending them to the international hospital, securing passport and visa, booking tickets, and more. You may want to start here: http://www.healthbase.com/resources/medical-tourism/medical-tourism-information.

Earlier, people would go abroad mostly for elective cosmetic procedures which were not covered by insurances. Today, people outsource their orthopedic procedures as well as cardiac surgeries as well as organ transplants. It’s not just individuals who are interested in this trend to save money. Medical outsourcing has also received attention from health insurance companies who have started offering overseas treatment plans to expand their customer base, and from employers who have included it as a benefit to their employees.

At the time of writing this article, neither Merriam Webster nor Dictionary.com had an entry for “medical outsourcing”. But given the speed with which the trend is spreading, pretty soon they will have to update their dictionaries.

You can learn more about medical outsourcing, the details of the process, international healthcare providers and arrange your surgery by logging on to http://www.healthbase.com. Healthbase.com is a medical tourism facilitator committed to providing low-cost high quality medical travel services to the global medical consumer.

The author works for Healthbase which is a medical tourism facilitator connecting patients to leading hospitals around the world for low cost high quality surgical care in various categories including bariatric, orthopedic, cardiac, spinal, dental, cosmetic, laparoscopic, etc. To learn more, call 1-888-691-4584, email info.hb @ healthbase.com, or visit http://www.healthbase.com.

Top Secret # 001: Not doing research
Don’t do any research and you will successfully fail in your quest to achieving safe and healthy medical treatment overseas. However, if you do want to go abroad and get quality health care while saving some bucks then consider doing thorough homework and collecting enough information. Some sources of information are: websites offering medical tourism services like Healthbase, news, blogs, articles, videos, testimonials, forums, etc. Satisfied medical tourists claim proper research to be a sure-fire way of happy and healthy medical tourism.

Top Secret # 002: Going abroad for a wrong procedure
Your ambulance will not drive you to India during an emergency (or even otherwise). Reasonably, only non-emergency treatments can be considered for medical tourism but not all such treatments fit the criterion as sometimes the travel costs can outweigh the possible savings achievable by going abroad.

Top Secret # 003: Choosing the wrong place
How about going to Thailand for your half-yearly dental cleaning? Superb idea? Not exactly. How about going there for dental implants? Maybe. And for full mouth restoration? Definitely. Choose a wrong place and you will waste your money on medical tourism instead of saving some. Wise medical tourists consider travel cost, lodging cost and number of visits required for full treatment when calculating potential savings.

Top Secret # 004: Choosing an unqualified doctor
Thanks to the power of the Internet, it’s very easy to choose a doctor qualified at accomplishing botched jobs. If you wish to not fall prey to them, better do your homework properly. Check your doctor’s credentials, ask people around and get recommendations from reliable sources to avoid scheduling an appointment with “Dr. Quack”.

Top Secret # 005: Not doing proper planning and preparation
Allowing time for surgery but not for recovery and recuperation? That will require you to modify your itinerary. As a medical tourist you should prepare yourself to stay longer/shorter than expected. If you have travel or tourism on mind, allow time for that as well. A word on arranging your essential documents: Put together your medical records and financial records, acquire passport and visa, and have the information of your important contacts handy. Also, book your travel tickets and hotel rooms well in advance.

Top Secret # 006: Working with a substandard medical tourism agency
There are new agencies cropping up each day. Some of them are there to genuinely help you while others are affiliated with “Dr. Quack”. A good medical tourism agency like Healthbase will have partners that are certified by international or domestic accrediting organizations. It will offer a variety of medical travel services, it will offer numerous medical procedures in many countries, it will have patient testimonials on its website, it will have been covered by media, and much more. Your research will help you identify the good ones.

Top Secret # 007: Failing to follow the right aftercare
Planning to play football the day after your total knee replacement surgery? Ouch, that will hurt! Physical therapy, rest, diet, medication, etc. are all as important as the surgery. Your local doctor might be able to help you with your aftercare so always keep him informed. You might also need his help, for example, for removing sutures or for taking X-Rays.

Remember to avoid the above 7 mistakes and your medical tourism or dental tourism abroad will be happy, healthy and successful.

You can learn more about how to plan an affordable medical trip and receive top quality medical care overseas at accredited international healthcare facilities by logging on to http://www.healthbase.com. Healthbase.com is a medical tourism facilitator committed to providing low-cost high quality medical travel services to the global medical consumer.

About the Author: The author works for Healthbase which is a medical tourism facilitator connecting patients to leading hospitals around the world for low cost high quality surgical care in various categories including bariatric, orthopedic, cardiac, spinal, dental, cosmetic, laparoscopic, etc. To learn more, call 1-888-691-4584, email info.hb@healthbase.com, or visit http://www.healthbase.com.

Dental tourism, as this phenomenon is known, is a close cousin of medical tourism, and can be defined as the act of going to another country for low cost yet top class dental services.

Why go abroad for dental care?

If you have dental insurance benefits from your employer you are among the lucky few. For a lot of people who do not have dental insurance, going to see a dentist can be a big blow on their pockets.

People go abroad for dental care for one of two reasons: because it’s so much cheaper there for the same quality of care that you get at home and because it’s available with no-wait.

The low cost dental care seekers are usually Americans going mainly to Mexico, Costa Rica, or Panama. The no-wait seekers are Canadians and Britons with the former seeking help in Mexico or Central America and the latter traveling to East European countries like Belgium, Hungary, Poland or Turkey. For some dental procedures which tend to be expensive or complicated, Asian countries like India, Thailand and Singapore are becoming hot dental tourism destinations.

Can travel costs outweigh the potential savings?

Possibly, yes. So, you have to plan your trip smartly if you are to save money.

Suppose you are going on business to Costa Rica. While you are there, consider taking advantage of the low cost of dental care in the country and get some imminent dental work done, like professional dental cleaning or teeth whitening or the likes.

But what if you were in need of a full mouth restoration and didn’t exactly have any vacation planned in Thailand in the near future? Well, if you flew from the US to Thailand, had your full mouth restoration there, and spent some time holidaying in the country, you would still end up saving money than if you had had the treatment done in the US at your local dental clinic.

If you have a couple of small and big dental issues to take care of, then it might actually pay to go abroad and solve them in one go. For example: If you had to get dental bonding, root canal treatment, tooth contouring and dental fillings, it may be best if you addressed them all in the same visit.

How do you find a good dental care provider?

Of late many dental clinics have emerged hosting sleek websites and boasting high quality care by top-class dentists but often dental tourists complain of poor jobs at those clinics. So make sure that the dental clinic or dentist you choose doesn’t fall into that category. You do that by inquiring about the dental care provider in question. Word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family help here. Ask about the credentials and experience of the dentist you are considering. Call up the provider and ask them about the equipments and technology they employ. Talking to them will also give you an idea of whether they are capable to handling foreign patients, for example by judging from their conversational skills and willingness to answer your questions.

You can save yourself the hard work of researching, planning, arranging and scheduling your dental care overseas by working with a dental tourism service providing company. Dental tourism firms like Healthbase are specialized firms that connect dental tourists to affordable and top quality dental care providers overseas. They also take care of several other related services like arranging pre-consultation conference calls with the foreign provider, digitizing and transferring your dental and medical records, ensuring that the provider is top-notch, scheduling your appointment at the foreign dental clinic, negotiating the best price for you, acquiring your passport and visa, booking your travel and accommodation, and much more.

You may learn more about the growing trend of dental tourism by visiting http://www.healthbase.com. Healthbase is a dental tourism facilitator committed to providing low cost high quality dental travel services to the global dental care consumer.

About the Author: The author works for Healthbase which is a medical tourism facilitator connecting patients to leading hospitals around the world for low cost high quality surgical care in various categories including bariatric, orthopedic, cardiac, spinal, dental, cosmetic, laparoscopic, etc. To learn more, call 1-888-691-4584, email info.hb@healthbase.com, or visit http://www.healthbase.com

Read on to learn how your everyday habits can lead to heart conditions and how you can take active steps to minimize your risk factors.

1. Eating habit

What you eat and in how much quantity has a direct impact on the health of your body's blood pumping mechanism. According to the Framingham Heart Study, a longitudinal study that has helped scientists understand the development and progression of heart disease and its risk factors since 1948, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk for heart disease. Following a diet low in saturated fat reduces your cholesterol levels. One such diet program known as the Pritikin Program that focuses on unprocessed or minimally processed straight-from-nature foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, starchy vegetables, lean meat and seafood, has been found to be effective in preventing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity. It is important not just to eat the right stuff but also to watch the amount of your intake. It is common knowledge that obesity increases the risk of heart disease so maintaining a healthy weight is very important to achieving a healthy heart. Read more about this at the Healthbase website.

2. Drinking habit

Although research has revealed an association between moderate alcohol consumption and lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), experts believe that drinking more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day increases a person's risk for high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. It should also be kept in mind that moderate drinking is not risk free. Alcohol consumption can lead to several other chronic illnesses like cancer, liver cirrhosis, and trauma.

3. Smoking habit

Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing several chronic disorders including fatty buildups in arteries called atherosclerosis, which is a leading cause of death from smoking. Many studies have shown that cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease, which leads to heart attack. Studies also show that cigarette smoking is an important risk factor for stroke. Women who take oral contraceptives and smoke increase their risk of stroke many times. Smoking also creates a higher risk for peripheral arterial disease and aortic aneurysm. Also, about 22,700 to 69,600 premature deaths from heart and blood vessel disease are caused by other people's smoke each year. So, by smoking you harm not only yourself but also your innocent neighbors.

4. Exercising habit

A sedentary lifestyle with complete physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke and is linked to cardiovascular mortality. Regular physical activity helps control blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes and obesity. Aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, skipping rope, bicycling and dancing can help reduce blood pressure and are good for your heart when done regularly for 30 minutes or longer every day or on most days. Even moderately intense physical activity such as walking for pleasure, gardening and yard work are beneficial for the heart when done regularly on a daily basis.

5. Behavioral habit

Anger and uncontrolled stress can lead to high blood pressure which in turn increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke. Anger and stress management techniques can be helpful in reducing your stress level and, therefore, your risk factor for heart disease. Some examples of reducing your stress level are practicing yoga, meditation and laughter therapy.

Prevention is much better and much less expensive than cure. Cardiac treatments like CABG (coronary artery bypass graft), cardiac valve repair, cardiac valve replacement, bypass surgery, double bypass surgery, triple bypass surgery, quadruple bypass surgery, heart transplant, and so on can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It takes discipline and perseverance to incorporate changes into your daily habits but it is not impossible to do so. So talk to your physician today about how to change your habits and your lifestyle for a healthier heart.

The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects cardiac and other patients to high quality surgical and non-surgical healthcare and dental care abroad for a fraction of cost in the US, Canada and UK.

Surgery abroad or medical tourism as the concept is more commonly known has become quite popular recently. It is not limited to cheap dental surgery in Mexico or inexpensive cosmetic surgery in Costa Rica or Panama any more. People are traveling halfway around the world for all sorts of procedures and those include orthopedic surgeries, fertility treatments, and even critical operations like organ transplantation, cancer treatment and cardiac surgeries.

But, is surgery abroad for everyone?

Obviously, overseas surgery is not an option if you are being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance at the time you need the surgery. This is common sense. However, there are many other occasions when you can benefit from obtaining treatment overseas for non-emergency conditions. But, to be able to seek treatment abroad, you should at least be fit enough to travel to your destination by plane or train or whichever mode of transportation you are using.

You can benefit from medical tourism if:

1. You do not have insurance. Unsurprisingly, a large number of medical travelers fall into this category. Not having health insurance can mean prohibitive prices charged by the hospital. It’s no secret that in the US, uninsured or self-pay patients are charged two to three times more for hospital care than those covered by health insurance. As reprehensible a practice as it may be, the patient is the one who has to take the blow. According to one Harvard study, half of personal bankruptcies in the United States are related to medical expenses. Filing for bankruptcy is not a solution, flying for medical tourism is. Medical tourism can save you 50% to 90% of the typical price your US hospital charges.

2. You have limited insurance. Limited insurance could mean high deductibles, high co-payments or high out-of-pocket expenses. Or it may mean that the medical care you need is not covered under your catastrophic insurance plan. In many ways, being underinsured is no better than being uninsured except that you are still paying your monthly insurance premium for either very little or nothing in return.

3. The treatment you are seeking is elective. Most health insurance plans out there do not cover elective surgeries. So even if you have insurance coverage and you know the procedure you need is not elective, it is very easy for your insurer to prove otherwise so they do not have to reimburse you if you went ahead and sought the treatment anyway. This is especially true in the case of many cosmetic and dental procedures.

4. The treatment you are seeking is not available in your country. For example, until some time ago, Birmingham Hip Resurfacing surgery (BHR) was not available in the United States. It was approved by the FDA only recently. So many patients from the US would go to India for the procedure. Patients still prefer to have this surgery in India as the surgeons there are much more experienced in performing BHR than the surgeons in the US and the cost is a lot cheaper there compared to the US.

5. There is a long wait for the treatment you are seeking. This can lead to deterioration in your condition and your quality of life. According to Jill Misangyi, a Canadian who went to India for her spinal decompression surgery to cure her 16-year old back pain, “Under the medicare system in Canada, waiting lists just to see specialists are 6 months to a couple of years, and another couple of years before or if they will do the surgery on you.” Medical tourism is the answer to the problems of many such patients who have spent a lifetime waiting for their turn and are still in the queue.

Once you have established your candidacy for medical tourism you should do a thorough research and planning before setting out on your medical trip abroad.

You can learn more about the growing trend of medical tourism, international healthcare facilities and surgeons and the details of the medical tourism process by logging on to the Healthbase website. Healthbase is a medical tourism facilitator committed to providing low-cost high quality medical travel services to the global medical consumer.

About the Author: The author works for Healthbase which is a medical tourism facilitator connecting patients to leading hospitals around the world for low cost high quality surgical care in various categories including bariatric, orthopedic, cardiac, spinal, dental, cosmetic, laparoscopic, etc. To learn more, call 1-888-691-4584, email info.hb@healthbase.com, or visit http://www.healthbase.com

Injuries are an inevitable part of playing any sport, be it tennis, squash, football, baseball, hockey, cycling, golf or any other. Just like defeats don't stop an athlete from moving on, physical injuries should not prevent you from playing sports because there almost always is a way to treat the injury and even major injuries can now be treated affordably through medical tourism.

TYPES OF INJURIES

Sports injuries may range from bruises and muscle strains, to fractures and head injuries. The most common sports injuries are:

Ligament sprains and muscle strains

Swollen muscles

Knee injuries (torn meniscus, runner's knee or patellofemoral pain syndrome, jumper's knee, articular surface problems, problems with the kneecap)

Knee ligament injuries (torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), torn medial collateral ligament (MCL))

Shoulder injuries (rotator cuff tears, glenoid labrum tear)

Tendon injuries (Achilles tendon injuries, DeQuervain's syndrome or washerwoman's sprain or mother's wrist)

Pain along the shin bone (shin splints)

Bone fractures (scaphoid fracture, hip fracture)

Dislocations (shoulders, fingers, knees, wrists, elbows)

Spine injuries (herniated disk, sciatica, lumbar spinal stenosis)

TREATMENT OPTIONS

To accelerate the overall healing process it's important that the initial phase (inflammatory phase) of the injury be minimized with the initial treatments. Treatment often begins with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) regime to relieve pain, reduce swelling and speed healing. Other possible treatments include pain relievers, keeping the injured area from moving, rehabilitation and sometimes surgery.

SURGICAL TREATMENT OF INJURIES

Surgery is recommended when the more conservative methods of healing and physical therapy have failed to relieve pain and restore normal function. Based on the site and extent of injury and evaluation by your doctor, the surgical approach used could be traditional or laparoscopic (keyhole).

The most common surgeries to treat sports-related injuries are:

Knee replacement (total or partial)

ACL repair or reconstruction

Meniscectomy

Arthroscopic surgery (knee arthroscopy, shoulder arthroscopy, spinal arthroscopy, wrist arthroscopy, ankle arthroscopy, hip arthroscopy)

Tendon repair surgery

Laminectomy or laminotomy

Discectomy or microdiscectomy

Bone fracture repair surgery

Hip replacement

Hip hemiarthroplasty

Birmingham hip resurfacing

Spinal decompression surgery

MEDICAL TOURISM AND SURGERY

If you are insured, your insurance may cover the cost of surgery. But if you have to pay for the surgery out of pocket it may cost you a fortune to have the surgery in the US. Therefore, Americans are increasingly shopping for surgical care in other countries - medical tourism - where the cost of surgery is much less while at the same time the quality offered is superior to what is available in the US.

When William Nilsson, an uninsured American, sustained knee injuries while playing football and tore his knee ligaments while playing golf, he resorted to an Indian hospital to get a total knee replacement surgery so he could return to his sports hobbies. Assisted by Healthbase, a medical tourism facilitator based in Boston, he managed to have his surgery for $6,500. The same surgery in the US would have cost him between $30,000 and $40,000.

Similarly, Daniel Biggs broke a tendon in his hand when playing golf. He had his tendon repair surgery coordinated by Healthbase in Panama for which he paid $5,500 - a price that was a mere 20% of what he was quoted in the United States.

These are just two examples of the hundreds and thousands of people traveling overseas to seek affordable health care for sports-related injuries as well as non-sports related conditions. Countries such as Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and India are popular medical tourism destinations for such treatments.

Price differential is the leading factor for the popularity of medical tourism. Other benefits of using medical tourism are access to high quality and immediate care. You may find more information about affordable medical tourism on the Healthbase website.

The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects patients to high quality surgical and non-surgical healthcare and dental care abroad for a fraction of cost in the US, Canada and UK.

The science behind stem cells
What sets stem cells apart from other cells is their ability to turn into any other type of tissue in the body. A stem cell from the bone marrow, for example, can be transformed into a neuron or nerve cell in the brain.

Types of stem cells: Embryonic stem cells versus Adult stem cells
Broadly, there are two types of stem cells in humans - embryonic stem cells and non-embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells (ESC), as the name suggests, are isolated from the inner cell mass of an early stage embryo (4-5 days post fertilization, and consisting of 50-150 cells). On the other hand, non-embryonic stem cells which are also known as adult stem cells are found in adult tissues.
Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent as opposed to adult stem cells that are multipotent. What this means is that embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body (to be able to give rise to any mature cell type) while adult stem cells can only form a limited number of cell types (closely related family of cells).

Utility of stem cells
The importance of stem cell lies in the fact that they can be converted into any type of other cells or tissues in the body – neurons, pancreatic tissue, heart muscle cells, etc.
So, for example, stem cells harvested from your bone marrow can possibly be used to repair the damage in your heart muscle caused during a heart attack, or to correct blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia (anaemia) through transfusions of stem cells.
Stem cell therapy is believed to have the potential to dramatically change the treatment of human disease. Embryonic stem (ES) cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease.
But, it should be noted at this point that embryonic stem cell therapies are not in use yet. They are still only in the stage where medical researchers are testing them on animals.
On the other hand, adult stem cells have been successfully used to treat leukemia (leukaemia) and related bone/blood cancers utilizing bone marrow transplants.

The controversy
The controversy behind stem cell research pertains only to human embryonic stem cell research and not all stem cell research. What is controversial is the fact that the source of the research material, human embryos, is destroyed in the process of harvesting the stem cells. Pro-life activists oppose the research arguing that a human embryo is a human life that is entitled to protection.
Another area of controversy is that embryonic stem cell technologies are a slippery slope that may lead to reproductive cloning which may devalue human life.
The production of adult stem cells, on the other hand, does not require the destruction of an embryo and therefore, adult stem cell research and therapy are not as controversial. Though, adult stem cell treatment does carry a risk of rejection by the body’s immune system.

The present state of stem cell research
There are some countries that offer treatments using stem cells (read about medical tourism) but in such therapies only adult stem cells derived from the patient's body are used (autograft). When possible, autografts are preferred as they remove the risk of rejection by the recipient’s body.
There is promising research ongoing in the field of stem cells to derive treatments for a wider variety of diseases including cancer, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), multiple sclerosis, lung disease, arthritis, organ failure, and muscle damage, amongst a number of other impairments and conditions.

The future
The ultimate question on the minds of many is – "Why can't we simply use adult stem cells instead of harvesting embryonic stem cells?"
Theoretically, embryonic stem cells are considered better because they work as a biological blank slate and are the most versatile of all stem cells whereas adult stem cells are sort of semi-specialized cells and are not as versatile as ESCs.
Though the field of adult stem cells is not marred by controversies, the problem with adult stem cells is also that they are often present only in minute quantities, are difficult to isolate and purify, and their numbers may decrease with age, according to a primer by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
At this juncture, much remains unknown about the potential of embryonic stem cells. But, going by the success in the field of animal testing it may very well turn out that embryonic stem cells could provide solutions to many diseases in humans.
The answer to the potential benefits of ESC lies in research. To understand the benefits of embryonic stem cells or any type of stem cells for that matter, and to discover possible treatments in humans, various lines of research need to be pursued simultaneously.
Only research can prove if adult stem cells are better over embryonic stems cells for curing human diseases or vice versa. It may also emerge that adult stem cells offer good treatments for certain ailments, while embryonic stem cells are better for curing others.

About the author: The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects patients to high quality healthcare in USA and abroad for a fraction of the typical cost of care in US, Canada and UK.

Back pains are as common as headaches. Most back pains disappear on their own with some rest and / or medication. Some may stay longer but can still be managed with conventional treatments of medication, therapy and back building exercises. But, there are a few types of back pain that are so chronic that they render the person disabled. Such chronic conditions necessitate surgery so as to improve the person’s condition.

There are different reasons that cause backaches. In this article we take a look into conditions caused by compression of the structures that form the spinal column, and the surgical solutions to these spine problems .

Conditions associated with spinal compression are: disc herniation, sciatica, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. To relieve pressure on one or many pinched nerves of the spinal column caused by the compression, spinal decompression surgery in its different forms - discectomy, laminectomy and foraminotomy - is employed. Let us start with a description of each of these conditions followed by an understanding of the surgical options.

CONDITIONS

Disc herniation: Discs or disks are pads of cartilage between two adjacent vertebrae (i.e. spinal bones) that separate the vertebrae and provide cushioning to them. When the disc herniates (moves out of place), the soft gel inside pushes through the wall of the disc putting pressure on the spinal cord and nerves that are coming out of the spinal column thereby resulting in a severely painful condition. Disc herniation can occur in any disc in the spine - cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back) or lumbar (lower back) region. Disc herniations occur especially in jobs that require lifting, but can also occur from jobs that require constant sitting.

Sciatica: Sciatica refers to pain, weakness, numbness, or tingling in the leg caused by injury to or compression of the sciatic nerve located in the back of the leg. Sciatica is a symptom of another medical problem, not a medical condition on its own. The sciatic nerve controls the muscles of the back of the knee and lower leg and provides sensation to the back of the thigh, part of the lower leg and the sole of the foot. Sciatica may be caused by degenerative disc disease (DDD), pelvic injury or fracture, piriformis syndrome (a pain disorder involving the narrow piriformis muscle in the buttocks), slipped disk, spinal stenosis, tumors, etc.

Spinal stenosis: Affecting mainly middle-aged or elderly people, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lumbar (lower back) or cervical (neck) region that results in compression of the nerve roots. It may be caused by osteoarthritis or Paget’s disease or by an injury that causes pressure on the nerve roots or the spinal cord itself.

Spondylolisthesis: Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which a vertebra in the lower back slips forward and onto a vertebra below it. The slip usually occurs between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. In adults, it is most commonly caused by a degenerative disease such as osteoarthritis. Other causes are stress fractures (caused during gymnastics), traumatic fractures, and bone diseases.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Depending upon the underlying reason behind the above conditions, surgical decompression might be used to help relieve the pain. Surgical spinal decompression can take the form of a diskectomy, a laminectomy, or a foraminotomy.

Spinal discectomy: Diskectomy or discectomy is the removal of all or part of the affected disc. Spinal discectomy can be done in a few different ways:

Microdiscectomy or microdiskectomy: This is a minimally invasive way of carrying out the discectomy procedure so that the bones, joints, ligaments or muscles of your spine are not touched resulting in faster healing and recovery.

Lumbar diskectomy: Lumbar discectomy, as the name implies, is performed to address conditions of the lumbar spine or lower part of the back. It may also be part of a larger surgery that also includes a laminectomy, foraminotomy, or spinal fusion (fusing the vertebrae together to stop motion at the painful joint).

Cervical diskectomy: Cervical discectomy is performed to treat conditions of the cervical spine or the neck region of the spine. It is most often done with laminectomy, foraminotomy, or fusion.

Spinal laminectomy: A laminectomy is the removal of a small portion of the arch of the vertebra to increase the size of the spinal canal to alleviate the pressure on the spinal cord and the pinched nerve. Laminectomy is most commonly performed to treat spinal stenosis. It is usually done along with a diskectomy, foraminotomy, and spinal fusion. Laminectomy can be done either using the conventional open method or using the minimally invasive method.

Spinal foraminotomy: A foraminotomy is the removal of bone and other tissue to expand the openings for the nerve roots to exit the spinal cord. Foraminotomy, which be performed on any level (region) of the spine, takes pressure off of a nerve in the spinal column and allows it to move more easily. The procedure is commonly performed as a minimally invasive procedure.

Spinal decompression surgery is successful in relieving pressure and pain in 80% to 90% of patients. When your back pain is getting the better of you, a decompression surgery can greatly help improve your quality of life.

As for Jill Misangyi, she feels her life after surgery has taken a total turn around for the good. She is off all pain medication and is back exercising building muscle. Her 16 years of painful prolonged waiting for surgery at an NHS hospital in Canada are wasted but she considers herself lucky to have found out about Healthbase and affordable medical tourism in India. She now has a second chance at life.

The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects patients to high quality healthcare in USA and abroad for a fraction of the typical cost of care in US, Canada and UK.

But, this convenience comes with its share of baggage. Problems of the back are all too common, sometimes resulting from your lifestyle habits, sometimes caused by illnesses and injuries, and at other times due to other reasons. Treatment options for back pain range from conventional methods to surgical means. Read more about treatment options at Healthbase.

Anatomy of the spine

Your back and neck contain the spinal column or vertebral column which is made up of 33 individual bones called vertebrae and runs down from your skull to your pelvis. Between the vertebrae are circular pads of cartilage (connective tissue) called discs that are responsible for cushioning the vertebrae when you jump or run.

The spinal column can be divided into four regions (from top to bottom):

The 7 vertebrae at the top constitute the neck region or cervical spine

The next 12 vertebrae make the upper back or the thoracic region

The next 5 vertebrae are the lower back or lumbar vertebrae

The last group of bones at the base of the spine are fused together into what is known as the sacrum and coccyx

The lumbar region (low back) is where most of the pain is felt as it supports the weight of the upper body.

Types of back pain

When you have a backache, the pain may originate from the muscles, nerves, bones, vertebral joints, discs or other structures in the spine or the spinal column.

Most back pains are temporary and can be managed with rest and / or medication. Your physician may also prescribe therapy and regular back exercises to keep the pain at bay and your back in shape. However, there are some cases of back pain that are severe or chronic and require surgical invervention.

Spinal osteoarthritis

One cause of such a chronic long-term back pain is spinal arthritis or osteoarthritis of the spine. It is the mechanical breakdown of the cartilage between the vertebral joints in the back portion of the spine leading to mechanically induced pain.

In spinal osteoarthritis, the joints become inflamed and pain may be felt when performing even the simplest of activities like standing, sitting or walking. Over time, bone spurs i.e. small irregular growths on the bone, also called osteophytes, typically form on the vertebral joints and around the spinal vertebrae which may become so large as to cause irritation or entrapment of nerves passing through spinal structures and result in spinal stenosis (diminished room for the nerves to pass).

Classification of spinal osteoarthritis

When stiffness and pain are in the lower spine (lumbar spine) and sacroiliac joint (between the spine and the pelvis), it is classified as lower back osteoarthritis or lumbosacral arthritis. When the stiffness and pain are in the upper spine, neck, shoulders, arms and head, it is classified as neck (cervical spine) osteoarthritis or cervical spondylosis.

Causes of spinal osteoarthritis

The most common causes of spinal osteoarthritis are repetitive trauma to the spine from repetitive strains caused by accidents, surgery, sports injuries and poor posture. Other risk factors include aging, gender (more common in post-menopausal women), excess body weight, genetics, and associated diseases (like infections, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.).

Spine fusion surgery

For spinal arthritis, the only effective surgical treatment is spine fusion surgery which stops motion at the painful joint. In fusion, one or more of the vertebrae of the spine are united (fused together) using bone grafts so that motion no longer occurs between them.

Spinal fusion surgery is used to treat:

a fractured (broken) vertebra e.g. spondylolisthesis

deformity e.g. scoliosis or kyphosis (spinal curves or slippages)

pain from painful motion

instability

some cervical disc herniations (fusion together with discectomy)

weak or unstable spine caused by infections or tumors

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About the author: The author works for Healthbase (www.healthbase.com), a medical tourism facilitator that connects patients to high quality healthcare in USA and abroad for a fraction of the typical cost of care in US, Canada and UK.