Tag Archives: back pain

What’s so bad about spinal back surgery?

Spinal back surgery, also referred to as spinal fusion, is used to relieve back pain. Surgeons fuse the bones together in an operation that can last up to four hours.

The Dangers of Back Surgery back surgery

Spinal surgery is very dangerous, it can cause blood clots in the legs that may travel to the lungs. It can also cause:

  • infection
  • heart attack
  • stroke
  • damage to your spinal nerves
  • pain
  • loss of sensation
  • weakness
  • trigger more problems later on

But what’s even worse is that back surgery rarely cures chronic back pain. (1)

Chiropractic should be explored before anyone considers back surgery.

A NOTE FROM DR. C

Statistically the odds of a repeat surgery goes up as structures that are somewhat mobile become fixated after surgery, and areas above and below have to take up the slack…look at Tiger Woods…he has just had his fourth back surgery!!!

Resource:

  1. Whoriskey P, Keating D. Spinal fusions serve as case study for debate over when certain surgeries are necessary. Washington Post. October 27, 2013.

Thinking about back surgery?

How Back Surgery is Performeddrawing of spinal column and nerves

Few surgeries have a higher failure rate than lumbar spinal fusion, a common back surgery that involves scraping slivers of bone off the hip and placing them in the disc space or the back of the spine. The raw bone promotes growth above and below causing the segments to fuse over an 18-month period. This results in less motion in the spine.

The surgery is done to eliminate back pain but the failure rate is so high it has a special name: “failed back surgery syndrome.”

back-surgerySurgeries for chronic low back pain are on the rise

A recent paper revealed that spinal fusion surgeries for chronic low back pain are on the rise, despite the lack of research to back their efficacy. As a result, experts are now calling for tighter guidelines, including a waiting period. Orthopedic surgeon Richard Williams, MD, who is also the spokesperson for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, says patients should wait 12 months before a spinal fusion surgery is performed because, “Most patients will recover after these 12 months.” Further, “spinal fusion rarely results in having no pain at all. The surgery works for a proportion of patients, not all.” (1)

Of course chiropractic care has been a blessing for countless people told that surgery was their only option, often saving them from this dangerous, costly and often useless medical procedure.

 

  1. Atkinson L, Zacest A. Surgical management of low back pain. Med J Aust. 2016;204(8):299-300.