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Rest your back for a day or two to begin healing. Use a firm mattress or the floor. Have your lower back firmly supported with a small pillow or towel. Keep your knees slightly bent, with another pillow under them. Every few hours, get up and walk as much as you can.

Periodontal disease is an infection of the gums and tissues supporting the teeth. If not treated, it often gets worse. Bone damage and tooth loss can occur. Regular self-care and dental visits can help prevent or control periodontal disease.

Oral lesions are abnormal cell growths or cell changes in or around the mouth that may become cancer. These lesions need to be found early to give you a better chance for a cure.

Ureteroscopic stone removal may be done before, after, or instead of other treatments. If you need this procedure, your doctor will discuss its risks and possible complications. You will be told how to prepare. And you will be told about anesthesia.

To fuse the spine, very small pieces of extra bone are needed. Called bone graft, this bone acts as the “cement” that fuses the vertebrae together. This eliminates motion between the two fused vertebrae with a slight loss in flexibility. This surgery can help treat many different back conditions.

Fusing vertebrae in the cervical spine (the top seven vertebrae of your spine) may help ease neck and arm pain. It may also help relieve progressive paralysis caused by compression of your nerve roots or spinal cord.

Fusing vertebrae in the lumbar curve spine may help ease lower back and leg pain. Posterior lumbar fusion is done through an incision in your back. The graft is put between the vertebrae in one of two places: in the disk space or between the transverse processes.

If you’ve had neck surgery, follow the guidelines below and any other directions you’ve been given.

The symptoms in your back or leg may be due to pressure on a nerve. This pressure may be caused by a damaged disk or abnormal bone growth. Either way, you may feel pain, burning, tingling, or numbness. If you have pressure on a nerve that connects to the sciatic nerve, pain may shoot down your leg.