Explore non-surgical options for back pain

DEAR DR. GOTT: My 79-year-old mother has lumbar spinal stenosis that leads to hip pain. She has seen ads and articles about minimally invasive procedures to relieve this problem. In a recent column, you stated that laser spine surgery “has not undergone controlled clinical trials.” What does this mean? Hasn’t it been tested for safety or effectiveness?

Also, are you familiar with MILD (minimally invasive lumbar decompression), which is an image-guided procedure to remove bits of bone and tissue that impact the spinal cord?

My mother has had a couple of steroid shots and has seen a chiropractor for this and other concerns. She is wondering about these minimally invasive procedures in the future rather than the major open surgery.
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