Round Rock Orthopaedics & Rehab is the only comprehensive orthopedic practice in Williamson County, serving the Greater Austin Area and all of Central Texas.

Spine Surgery and Treatment

Round Rock Orthopaedics & Rehab has qualified physicians and orthopedic surgeons to treat spine disorders. We offer both general and specialized spine care, starting with a complete evaluation and treatment options to include non-surgical approaches, advanced surgical options, and rehabilitation. Our physicians and surgeons have advanced training in caring for the spine (neck to lower back) and use the latest advancements in technology to diagnosis, and perform the correct treatment plan to maximize your recovery.

The Spine:

Your spine is the wondrous bony framework that helps keep you upright—the literal backbone of your body. Your organs, muscles, and other bones depend on it for foundation, stability, flexibility of movement, and balance. Think of all the activities that depend on your spine: walking, running, bending forward and backward, dancing, riding, sitting, turning, rotating. It’s your body’s workhorse.

Injury, Trauma, or Aging to the Spine:

Sometimes trauma (from a sport injury, fall, or car accident, for example) weakens the ligaments, discs, muscles and structures of the spine or disrupts their normal function. Sometimes the spine can weaken just from the normal wear and tear of aging. Whatever the cause, pain and dysfunction in the spine can cause symptoms in the spine itself or in the extremities.

Spinal dysfunctions can cause stiffness, numbness, swelling, tenderness, and discomfort for entire portions of the body and slowly restricting your movements. Even the simplest daily activities can become painful—slowly diminishing your mobility and, ultimately, your quality of life.

Surgical Procedures

Non-Surgical Treatments

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Minimally invasive procedures:

Many Williamson County, Round Rock and Central Texas residents have experienced the benefits of minimally invasive spine surgery. Many common open procedures used to stabilize fractures, thereby reducing pain and correcting the deformities when possible can be preformed with minimally invasive procedures. Since the spinal procedures are less invasive, they have been shown to improve mobility and enable patients to return to everyday activities such as walking, bending, and lifting with significantly less pain that they had prior to the procedure. Patients also report improved mental health, vitality, social function, and emotional well-being.

Anterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion


Treatment: For disc herniations in the neck, spinal cord compression, radiculopathy or myelopathy. A common cause of spinal cord dysfunction is the degenerative change in the cervical spine that, in advanced stages, can cause compression of the spinal cord. Symptoms often develop almost unobserved and are characterized by neck stiffness, arm pain, numbness in the hands, and weakness of the hands and legs. Pressure is relieved form the spinal cord and nerves in the neck, and the spine is reconstructed by the fusion with instrumentations.

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion


Treatment: For back pain from disc degeneration pinched nerves, sciatica, stenosis The disc is removed from the front of the spine to decompress nerve roots or to remove a painful disc. The spine is reconstructed with synthetic cage placed in the disc space and packed with a collagen sponge containing bone morphogenic protein (BMP). This promotes a spine fusion without the need to use bone graft. Screws and rods can be used in the back to strengthen the entire construct while the bone heals.

Cervical Laminoplasty


Treatment: For Spinal cord compression and myelopathy Spinal Cord compression can cause significant neurological problems such as difficulty using the hands and walking. Cervical laminoplasty relieves spinal cord compression by expanding the spinal canal. The bones forming the “roof” over the spinal cord in the back of the neck are called “lamina”. These are cut and repositioned rather than removing them completely and a fusion is not usually needed. The spinal cord is relieved of pressure resulting in neurological improvement.

Kyphoplasty and Vertebroplasty


Treatment: For compression fractures due to osteoporosis, cancer, or kyphosis. If left untreated, one fracture can lead to subsequent fractures; often resulting in a condition called kyphosis, and can cause persistent back pain and disability. Kyphosis presses the chest and abdominal cavity, leading to many potential health consequences. With balloon Kyphoplasty, two small incisions are made on either side of the spine. A small surgical balloon is guided through the cannula into the vertebra. Using intraoperative x-ray, the fracture is indirectly re-expanded and stabilized with bone cement (similar to that used for hip and knee replacement). After surgery the pain from the fracture is reduced and a brace is not usually needed.

Minimally Invasive Lumbar Discectomy and Decompression


Treatment: For disc herniations in the back, sciatica, radiculopathy, spinal stenosis A herniated disc or spinal stenosis can cause severe leg pain by pinching a nerve. This procedure uses a small incision, about an inch long, through which a surgical tube is inserted. The disc herniation is removed through the small tube, thereby relieving the pinched nerve. Patients can go home the same day and usually experience significant pain relief immediately following surgery.

Surgery Determination

To determine whether you need surgery, consult the physicians at Round Rock Orthopedics & Rehab. A doctor or PA who specializes in your problem will evaluate your medical history, take X-rays, and assess your range of movement and level of back or neck pain. If, together, you decide that surgery is required, the aim of the procedure will be to correct the deteriorating condition, help you regain movement, and eliminate the pain you have been experiencing.

If you do opt to have the surgery, it would help for you to do some homework ahead of time. Practice using a walker (you’ll use one temporarily after surgery) and become familiar with the specific exercises you will need to do after surgery. After surgery, some movement may be initially limited, but this will improve over time.

Learn about using a safe walking pattern and equip your home with self-help devices such as a raised toilet seat, a bath bench, and reaching tools. Your activity will be restricted at first. Observe these restrictions to give your back or neck proper time to heal.

A personal exercise program designed by one of our staff physical therapists will help to restore muscle balance and allow you to walk more comfortably. Continuing exercises at home and at our outpatient physical therapy facility for several months following surgery will help you regain strength and independence. An active lifestyle which includes water exercises, walking, and biking is essential in keeping you healthy and flexible. Gauge your daily activities with your surgery in mind. Avoid strenuous movements such as twisting, jumping, and running.

After surgery, the back or neck pain you had will be gone, but you may have some discomfort when you stretch, and you may experience some pain at the site of the surgery. This will decrease and disappear over time.

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Surgery: Spine Surgery