John K. Hong, M.D. | 10/26/2026 If you have persistent back pain, sciatica, or spinal stenosis, you may have heard terms such as decompression, discectomy, fusion, and endoscopic spine surgery. Understanding what these procedures do—and how they differ—can help you make an informed decision about treatment. One distinction is especially helpful: decompression and fusion describe the goal of surgery, while open, microscopic, and endoscopic describe how the surgeon performs i

Winter mornings in Salt Lake City, Utah, can be rough, especially when back pain makes even the smallest tasks harder. Shoveling snow, climbing icy steps, or just getting out of bed can feel more difficult when the cold tightens muscles and aches linger longer than usual. While some discomfort fades with rest or a few simple stretches, other kinds of pain stick around, grow worse, and start to limit how we live day to day. When back pain becomes more than temporary soreness,

Winter in Utah often brings more than just cold weather and snow. For many of us dealing with back pain, the drop in temperature can make things feel tighter, more uncomfortable, and harder to manage. When the usual steps like rest, movement, or therapy are not helping, a doctor might bring up endoscopic spine surgery. That can sound like a big step, especially if you are not sure what it really involves. The good news is that it is not as overwhelming as it sounds. Endoscopi