Tag Archives: back surgery

Should I Get Back Surgery?

Many people who have back pain get back surgery-a big mistake in most cases. Studies show that back surgery has a high failure rate and that patients are left in as much or even more pain in time after the operation. A second or even third back operation is often done. Recently The Economist described the problems with the surgical approach. 

Back Surgery = 87% still in severe pain

back surgery

The prevalence of chronic back pain provided a huge expanse of fertile ground for the deceptive marketing and poor prescription behind America’s opioid epidemic… Spines are injected with cement-like mixtures or fitted with various types of medical hardware. Vertebrae are fused together, discs excised or tampered with in various ways… there is a growing body of evidence that the benefits… to most patients are limited or non-existent…

In 2015 there were roughly 85,000 [spinal fusion] surgeries in America… Two years after treatment 87% of customers were still in pain severe enough for medication or some other treatment; 15% had more surgery. (1)

Please share this with anyone you know who is contemplating back surgery or having medical procedures. If only everyone experiencing back pain first explored chiropractic care, there would be much less back surgery, less drugs (including opioids), less expense and happier patients.

By the way, chiropractic may help those who already have had back surgery and prevent them from having more surgery.

Contact us today! Call 517.627.4547


 

  1. Cheetham S. Backs to the future. The Economist. Jan 18, 2020:17-19.

Chiropractic Care and Spinal Surgery: Is it safe?

Questions and Answers About Chiropracticspinal surgery

Question: Can I receive chiropractic care even if I’ve had spinal surgery, a spinal fusion or have implanted rods?

Answer: First let us say that anyone who is told they need spinal surgery such as a spinal fusion or “disc” operation should first see if they are a good candidate for chiropractic care. For over a hundred years Doctors of Chiropractic have saved people from unnecessary back and neck surgery.

In fact, the majority of spinal fusion operations (the most common form of spinal surgery) are unnecessary and even worse, end up as failures – the pain comes back, except this time the spine is weakened from the surgery, there may be internal scar tissue and there may be incomplete healing. (1)

But sadly, many people don’t know about the chiropractic alternative and submit to spinal surgery. In so many cases the pain returns after a few months or years. They may be advised to have a second operation, or a third.

Can they receive chiropractic care after spinal surgery? spinal surgery

Yes! Can they receive chiropractic care even if they have metal rods or screws in their spine? Yes!

Low back surgery has a terrible success rate. Before anyone rushes in to this procedure they should read this and then come see us!

P.S. Feel free to write to us with any more questions.


  1. Fritsch EW1,Heisel J,Rupp S. The failed back surgery syndrome: reasons, intraoperative findings, and long-term results: a report of 182 operative treatments. Spine.1996 Mar 1;21(5):626-633.

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.