Leg pain can be a tell tale sign that something may be wrong with your spinal column.

Mary Jeanne "I didn't know a back problem could not hurt your back. My back never did hurt. I was desperately in terrible shape. I couldn't do any walking. I just couldn't do anything."

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Paul Fuchs says a procedure called a laminectomy is performed to decrease the pressure on the spinal nerves. "The lamina is a structure in the spine on the back of the spine that covers the nerves."

Dr. Fuchs says by removing all or part of these structures relieves pressure on the spinal cord or never by widening the spinal canal. Sometimes additional procedures may be required to help stabilize the spine. "It depends on the physician recognizing that through various studies such as x-rays and then treating it appropriately."

Many patients like Mary Jeanne who have undergone this procedure say their quality of life has been given back to them. "I would encourage other patients to, if they're physically well enough shape to go on and get it done sooner than I did, so they don't have to suffer that long."

Laminectomies can take from 45 minutes to 2 hours to perform.

Most laminectomies are performed on patients suffering from a condition called spinal stenosis.