Patient Information & FAQs

It is uncommon that Dr Pun will recommend surgery as a first step. Your initial consultation is used to understand the problem, review your scans and discuss the options available to you, including all suitable non-operative treatment. If there is a clear reason surgery may be needed, Dr Pun will discuss this with you from the beginning.

This depends on your condition and what you have already tried. Non-operative treatment can include physiotherapy, medication, activity changes and spinal injections. If you have already tried treatment with a physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor or another health professional, let Dr Pun know what you have tried and if it helped.

For some conditions, an image-guided spinal injection may help reduce pain or inflammation and give you time to continue rehabilitation or other treatment. An injection can also provide useful information about where symptoms are coming from.

There is no standard timeframe as every patient’s circumstance, symptoms and needs are different. For many patients, the process can take a few months as scans are reviewed and non-operative treatments such as physiotherapy or injections are tried first. If surgery becomes the recommended next step, timing will depend on your condition, symptoms, health and the procedure being considered. Some spinal problems require more urgent treatment and follow a different pathway.