Some of the spine conditions that neurosurgeons treat include (but are not limited to) disc replacement, cauda equina syndrome, scoliosis, spinal bifida, spinal cord injury, spinal infections, cysts, tumors and more. From Forced Retirement To Working On The Ranch. Some conditions are immediately life-threatening although chronic debilitating conditions are also treated. When physicians graduate from an accredited neurosurgery training program, they usually have assisted in many hundreds of spinal procedures. Often, pain that you feel is traveling through the nervous system. Do You Need a Neurosurgeon for Your Neck or Back? Read About Why Your Back Pain Might Be Caused by Lumbago, Possible Complications of Back Surgery for Overweight Patients. Neurosurgeons provide the operative and non-operative management (i.e., prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, critical care and rehabilitation) of neurological disorders. Many years ago, neurosurgeons were primarily responsible for spine surgery, but in the past 20 to 25 years spine surgery has evolved so that both neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons specialize in spine surgery, and for most of the typical spine operations both types of surgeons are equally well qualified. Oftentimes, when you feel pain, it travels from the nervous system. Some things you can do right now. Read our, Medically reviewed by Stuart Hershman, MD, Medically reviewed by Laura Campedelli, PT, DPT, Medically reviewed by Jonathan Cluett, MD, Medically reviewed by Diana Apetauerova, MD, Medically reviewed by Erin Pereira, DPT, OCS, Verywell Health uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Almost everyone will experience at least one episode of acute low back pain at some point in his or her life. While a neurosurgeon is capable and excels at performing extremely complex surgeries, they can also help you when  more conservative options are needed for your neck or back pain. A neurosurgeon can help if you suffer with neck or back pain or a condition such as degenerative disc disease. During their junior year of undergraduate study, prospective neurosurgeons must sit for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). That said, orthopedic surgeons can operate on some of the same conditions as neurosurgeons. A good example of this is spinal fusion for degenerative disc disease or scoliosis. Willems, P. Decision Making in Surgical Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: The Performance of Prognostic Tests to Select Patients for Lumbar Spinal Fusion. Neurosurgeons are specially trained to treat a variety of conditions, disorders and diseases that affect all aspects of the nervous system- from disorders of the spine and head injuries to chronic pain, nerve injuries and stroke. Choosing a neurosurgeon does not guarantee that you will need neck surgery or back surgery. A neurosurgeon is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system. Instead, you would first go to your primary care doctor, and if, after examining you, taking a medical history and possibly ordering and reviewing diagnostic tests, she deems a visit to a specialist is in order, she’ll write you a referral. The researchers found that of the 303 records they reviewed, only 26% (i.e., 80 patients) had been referred to the neurosurgeon appropriately. 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