Low Back & Pelvis

What It Is

Laminectomy is a type of surgery that removes the lamina, which is the back part of the vertebra covering your spinal canal. This opens up the spinal canal to relieve the pressure on the spinal nerves (or, in the neck, the spinal cord) (MedlinePlus, 2024).

The pressure can be caused by a number of different problems, such as bony overgrowths (bone spurs) within the canal or a herniated (slipped) disc (MedlinePlus, 2024). The operation can be done in the neck or the lower back (MedlinePlus, 2024); this sheet is about the lower back (lumbar spine), where it is a type of lumbar decompression surgery (NHS, 2026). More than one level of the spine may need to be operated on, depending on the amount of degeneration.

A laminectomy is often used when other treatments have not relieved your symptoms. It may also be recommended if your symptoms are severe and interfere with your daily life or work (MedlinePlus, 2024).

Before this kind of surgery is done, other treatments, such as physiotherapy, losing weight if you're overweight, or steroid injections, are usually tried first (NHS, 2026). The exception is cauda equina syndrome, where the nerves at the base of the spine are badly squashed. This is a medical emergency that may need urgent surgery (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.).

Warning signs: if you have back problems and develop numbness around your genitals or back passage, lose control of your bladder or bowels, or develop weakness in your legs, call 911 or go to the emergency room at your nearest hospital (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.).

Laminectomy of the Lumbar Spine Anatomy

There are 5 vertebrae in the lower back, and 7 in the neck. Each vertebra is made of one piece of bone, but different parts of the bone are called different things. For example, the projection at the back of the bone is called the spinous process, and the arch next to it is called the lamina.

The spinal canal is the tube of bone that the spinal nerves run through. When the canal becomes narrower, this is known as spinal stenosis. Stenosis usually develops with age or arthritis: the discs shrink, the small facet joints at the back of the spine wear and form bone spurs, and the ligaments around them thicken. Together these crowd the space for the nerves (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.; NHS, 2026). A bulging or slipped disc can also press on a nerve. By removing bone at the back of the spine, there is more space for the nerves. This can relieve pinching of the nerve and reduce nerve pain.

Undergoing a Laminectomy Procedure

During the laminectomy, you are given a general anaesthetic, so you are asleep for the procedure (NHS, 2026; MedlinePlus, 2024). The team will monitor your blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygen for the whole procedure. After you are asleep:

The surgeon makes a cut in your back over the affected vertebrae and moves the muscles away from the spine as needed. Using small instruments, the lamina is removed (MedlinePlus, 2024).
If the surgery is being done to treat a herniated disc, the part of the disc pressing on the nerve, and any loose pieces, may also be removed, along with bone spurs (MedlinePlus, 2024; NHS, 2026).
If one of your vertebrae has slipped forward on another, or the spine is unstable, a spinal fusion may also be needed. During spinal fusion, two or more vertebrae are permanently joined together using bone graft, often with screws (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.; MedlinePlus, 2024).
The cut is closed with stitches or clips (NHS, 2026).

After a laminectomy

If you develop numbness around your genitals or back passage, or problems controlling your bladder or bowels, call 911 or go to the emergency room at your nearest hospital.
Contact your hospital team straight away if you get new pain, weakness or numbness in your legs, or if the skin around your stitches is hot, itchy, red or oozing fluid (NHS, 2026).

Not a diagnosis — for more information, contact me or another trusted healthcare provider.

Treatment

Self-Care & Treatment

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

Options outside my scope

Epidural steroid injection: an injection of a steroid medicine around the nerves in the spine, which can reduce swelling, pain and leg numbness for some people with spinal stenosis (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.).
Spinal fusion: an operation to permanently join two or more vertebrae, sometimes done at the same time as a laminectomy if the spine is unstable (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.).

How I can help (see the My Approach tab)

Gentle hands-on work for your back, hips and legs once your surgeon is happy
A graded walking and exercise plan
Rebuilding strength for work and daily life

After Surgery

Once your surgical team is happy for you to start, I can support your recovery with gentle hands-on work, walking and exercise that fit their plan. See the My Approach tab for how I work.

Follow the instructions from your surgical team, as they will be tailored to you. The hospital may arrange physiotherapy to help with your movement after surgery (NHS, 2026). Many people can return to work around 4 to 6 weeks after the operation, depending on their job, and it may take up to 12 weeks to get back to all usual activities (NHS, 2026).

Tips

Therapy is a must following surgery. Most people need some physical therapy to strengthen their back (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, n.d.). I can help you with this strengthening once your surgeon is happy for you to start.
It is normal to be sore at first after surgery. With time, and therapy, symptoms tend to improve. Your hospital team will advise you on pain relief.
A good early sign that surgery has gone well is an improvement or disappearance of the leg pain caused by a compressed nerve.
In the lower back, laminectomies are often performed to relieve the pressure that spinal stenosis places on the nerves, which can cause pain, numbness, weakness or heaviness in the buttocks and legs (MedlinePlus, 2024). (Symptoms in the arms come from the neck, not the lower back.)

Treatment

My Approach

After a laminectomy, your back needs time to heal, the muscles around it often stay tight and guarded, and nerve pain can take a while to settle. Your surgical team decides what you can do and when, including lifting, bending and driving. I work inside those limits and need your surgeon's okay before we start any hands-on treatment.

I start by asking what your team has advised, then assess how you move and walk, and the strength and feeling in your legs.

Early Recovery

Gentle hands-on work for the back, hips and legs, and the neck and shoulders if they're working overtime, staying clear of the wound
A walking plan that builds a little at a time, without big days followed by crashes
Gentle nerve glides, so the nerves slide freely without hard stretching
Understanding why pain can linger after surgery, and that hurt doesn't always mean harm
Relaxed breathing and comfortable positions for rest and sleep

Building Strength

Gentle scar work once the wound has fully healed, to keep the skin moving
Finding a comfortable neutral spine and gently tightening your tummy and back muscles together
Building up to steps, squats, lunges and lifting that match your work and daily life, with gym-based work later if you want it

If you develop numbness around your genitals or back passage, or problems controlling your bladder or bowels, call 911 (see After Surgery).

What to Expect

Typical Course

Typical course: Early on, visits are usually short and about weekly, then once or twice a week as you build up, then less often as you manage more on your own. Many people return to work around 4 to 6 weeks after the operation and get back to all usual activities by up to 12 weeks, following your surgical team's plan.

What I Focus On

Working Within Your Surgeon's Limits

Back & Hip Release

Graded Walking

Nerve Glides

Strength & Return to Work

Sources

References

MedlinePlus (2024) Laminectomy. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007389.htm (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
NHS (2026) Lumbar decompression surgery. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lumbar-decompression-surgery/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (n.d.) Lumbar spinal stenosis. OrthoInfo. Available at: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/lumbar-spinal-stenosis/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooLaminectomy of the Lumbar Spine

What It Is

Laminectomy of the Lumbar Spine Anatomy

Undergoing a Laminectomy Procedure

After a laminectomy

Self-Care & Treatment

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

After Surgery

Tips

My Approach

Early Recovery

Building Strength

Typical Course

References

Related Conditions

Book a session

Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooLaminectomy of the Lumbar Spine

What It Is

Laminectomy of the Lumbar Spine Anatomy

Undergoing a Laminectomy Procedure

After a laminectomy

Self-Care & Treatment

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

After Surgery

Tips

My Approach

Early Recovery

Building Strength

Typical Course

References

Related Conditions

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS)

Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Coccydynia

Coccyx Fracture

Book a session