Low back pain is the leading cause of disability in the world! It affects millions of people and the majority of us will experience back pain at some point in our life. When that back pain is severe, we want to do anything that we can to get rid of it and sometimes that includes surgery. However, while surgery can give relief to some, there unfortunately are many that continue to have pain even after surgery. There is even a specific name for it: “failed back surgery syndrome.” So how do you know when you should consider back surgery? As a chiropractor is Colorado Springs, I will give you my opinion on the answer to that question.
When Should I Consider Back Surgery?
My short answer to that question is when you have exhausted every other option. You see, back surgery isn’t something that you can just undo if you have second thoughts. Once you have surgery there are consequences – sometimes good, sometimes bad – and either way you are stuck with them. Now to be perfectly honest, I do think there are times when surgery is the best option but I believe that scenario is much less frequent than it is actually performed. And I am not the only one that thinks that.
In a Mayo Clinic article entitled “Back surgery: When is it a good idea?” it states “Back surgery can help relieve some causes of back pain, but it’s rarely necessary.” In a USA Today article in looking at a specific surgery in Medicare patients they found:
About 10% of all spinal fusions paid for by Medicare in 2011 were not necessary, either because there was no medical basis for them or because doctors did not follow standards of care by exploring non-surgical treatments
The truth is that many studies looking at long term benefits of surgery vs. conservative care show no significant difference in long term outcomes. While there are sometimes short-term benefits in certain patients often one to two years down the road there is no significant difference. So ultimately you need to decide if surgery is worth it?
What Conservative Treatments Should Be Considered First?
Now the good news with most cases of back pain is that they will resolve themselves within a few months even without any treatment. But there are several conservative treatments that should be tried before considering surgery. The most common conservative treatments in the medical approach include pain medication, exercise, physical therapy and injections. These can be beneficial. Another option is chiropractic care. As a chiropractor I have seen excellent results with chiropractic care. By realigning the bones of the spine and working with trigger points to relieve muscle tension, I have been able to relieve back pain in many of my patients. Another option that I sometimes use is spinal decompression. Spinal decompression is non-surgical and is available especially for bulging discs or other disc injuries. This is typically done on a spinal decompression table that puts traction on the spine, helping to take pressure off the spinal disc and allowing nutrients back into the disc so it can heal.
Whatever you choose, please give conservative treatments a try before considering surgery. If you know someone that is considering back surgery please pass this information along. And if you would like to know more about how chiropractic can help your back pain please give our office a call.
References
http://www.mayoclinic.org/back-surgery/art-20048274?pg=1 accessed June 18th, 2015
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1840393 accessed June 18th, 2015
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/18/unnecessary-surgery-usa-today-investigation/2435009/ accessed June 18th, 2015
