Why a treatment name is not enough
A spinal team reading 'physiotherapy, injections, medication' learns almost nothing it can use. It cannot tell which level was treated, whether the treatment reached the intended target, how long any benefit lasted, or whether the remaining problem is the disc itself, a nerve root, a facet joint or something else. That distinction matters because lumbar artificial disc replacement replaces a damaged disc with a prosthesis, and it is not suitable for every patient with back pain. The assessment is not simply whether the back hurts, but whether the disc is the source and whether preserving motion at that level is appropriate.
Previous treatment results are the closest thing a clinician has to a natural experiment. If a targeted injection at one level produced clear, temporary relief, that is different information from a course of tablets that changed nothing. If structured rehabilitation improved strength and walking but not night pain, that pattern points somewhere else again. Your job is not to interpret those patterns. Your job is to record them accurately enough that the treating spinal specialist can interpret them.
This is also why the phrase 'conservative treatment failed' is weak on its own. Failed how, for how long, at what dose, and with what remaining function? Those details change which questions the clinician asks next and which imaging is worth repeating.
What to write for each previous treatment
Build one short entry per treatment, in date order. For medication, record the drug name, the dose, how long you took it and whether it helped. For injections, record the exact level and side if you know it, what was injected if that is documented, the date, and the degree and duration of relief. For physiotherapy or rehabilitation, record what was actually done, how many sessions, and which specific functions changed. For any surgery, record the level, the procedure, the date and the outcome.
Then add the part patients frequently leave out: the current baseline. What can you do now that you could not do before treatment, and what can you no longer do? Walking distance, sitting tolerance, sleep interruption, numbness, weakness and bladder or bowel function are all relevant. If any of these are worsening quickly, that is a reason to seek local urgent assessment rather than wait for an overseas enquiry.
Keep the language plain and factual. 'Left L5 injection, March, about six weeks of partial relief, then pain returned to previous level' is more useful than 'injections did not work'. Avoid grading your own pain out of ten unless the clinic uses that scale; describe function instead, because function is harder to misremember.
Match the record to the level, not just the symptom
Artificial disc replacement is a level-specific decision. A clinician assessing motion preservation needs to know which disc is being considered, what the adjacent levels look like, and whether previous treatment was aimed at the same level. If your records mention 'back pain' without a level, or an injection without a side, the picture is incomplete.
Ask your existing clinic for the procedure note or discharge summary rather than relying on memory. If a report exists but you cannot read it, send it as it is; a treating team can usually work with the original document and an interpreter. Do not rewrite a clinical document in your own words and present it as the record.
Imaging matters here too, but as part of the same story. A disc that looks degenerated on an older scan may not be the level that is currently generating symptoms. The spinal specialist will decide whether existing imaging is adequate or whether further assessment is needed. That is a clinical judgement, not something to settle by collecting more scans than requested.
Describe the treatments you stopped and why
Stopping a treatment is itself a result, and the reason for stopping changes what the spinal team asks next. If you stopped medication because of a side effect, name the side effect and when it appeared. If you stopped physiotherapy because a particular movement made the pain worse, describe that movement and how quickly the pain settled afterwards. If you stopped simply because the prescribed course ended, say that instead. A course that finished and a course that was abandoned are different facts, and they point to different questions about whether the disc itself is still the source of symptoms.
Record also what happened in the weeks after you stopped. Did the pain return to its previous level, stay better, or continue to worsen? A treatment that gave relief and then wore off tells a clinician something different from one that never changed anything at all. If you kept a symptom diary during that period, include the relevant entries rather than summarising them from memory.
Do not stop or change any prescribed medicine in order to make your history look cleaner. Continue your current care as directed by your own clinician while you prepare an enquiry. If you are unsure whether a treatment is still relevant, include it and label it clearly rather than leaving it out. A medication you are still taking is part of the current picture, not only the past one, and the treating team needs to know about it before any procedure is discussed.
Also record treatments you declined and why. A patient who was offered surgery and chose to wait is in a different position from one who was never offered it. Both are legitimate; the treating team simply needs to know which one applies. If you declined an injection or a procedure because of cost, travel or fear, that is useful context, not something to hide.
Finally, note any treatment that was recommended but never started, and the reason. A plan that was proposed and then set aside can still shape what the clinician considers reasonable now, especially if the reason was practical rather than clinical.
Questions that turn your history into a decision
Once your record is organised, the useful next step is to ask the spinal team specific questions rather than general ones. Which levels are being considered for artificial disc replacement, and which are not? What device or prosthesis is proposed, and what alternatives are being weighed, including fusion or continued non-surgical care? What does the review plan look like after surgery, and what rehabilitation is expected once you return home?
Ask these in writing if possible, so the answers are clear and can be shared with your local clinician. Ask also what the team needs from you before it can give a view: which records, which imaging, and whether a records-based opinion is possible before any travel. A remote review can inform the decision, but it does not by itself confirm that you are a candidate for surgery, that a particular implant is available, or that a hospital will accept your case. Those are decisions for the treating hospital and its clinicians.
If you are comparing options, ask each provider the same questions and note where the answers differ. Differences in what is being proposed are more informative than differences in how a clinic describes itself.
Preparing the summary and the next step
Aim for a one- to two-page summary in English, with the original documents attached behind it. Put the current problem and the level at the top, then the treatment history in date order, then your current function and your main question. Keep it factual and do not add a diagnosis of your own.
If you are considering care in China, an initial enquiry is free and only needs a brief summary, not a complete medical archive. Our team can check what you have, point out what is missing and suggest the relevant next step. A proxy consultation is optional and is not a prerequisite for an appointment or an operation; the hospital decides suitability. You can begin with the enquiry form, email or WhatsApp, and share fuller records after first contact.
Before you travel anywhere, confirm with the named provider what its written plan and estimate include, what the review and rehabilitation arrangements are, and who will take responsibility for follow-up once you are home. Those answers, not a treatment list, are what make the decision concrete.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.