Thinking About Back Surgery?
Chronic back pain is no laughing matter. It can interfere with your work, responsibilities, and general enjoyment of life. It can even rob you of a good night’s sleep. For some people, back discomfort rages through everything they need or want to do—and they’re the lucky ones. For some people, back pain is downright debilitating and blocks you from doing things altogether.
As if the pain in your back isn’t bad enough, back pain comes with a whole entourage of companion issues—stress, anxiety, depression, and health care expenses, just to name a few.
There comes a time when people with chronic back pain get desperate and are willing to do anything to find relief—including back surgery. When pain medications and physical therapies are no longer working, back surgery begins to look like your only hope.
Here are some things you should know about back surgery, as well as another option you might consider first.
Back Surgery Doesn’t Work for Everyone
The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation notes a research study on 1,450 people who had been diagnosed with nerve or disc conditions. Half the participants of the study underwent surgery, and after two years, only 26% of those people were able to go back to work.
Even more alarming, 41% of the surgery patients increased their use of painkillers. Many surgery patients found back pain increased after surgery.
On the flip side, 67% of people who did not get the surgery were still able to work.
Other Risks of Back Surgery
There is a reason why doctors only recommend back surgery in the absolute worst cases. As the study above indicates, many surgery patients do not get better or have worse pain after surgery.
In addition to the pain, there are other concerning risks from back surgery. These include:
- blood loss
- infection
- adverse anesthesia reactions
- permanent nerve damage
- heart attack
- paralysis
- loss of control over bladder and bowels
- sexual dysfunction
The problem with back surgery is that the “cure” may be worse than the condition.
Another Option for Back Pain Treatment
Before you schedule surgery, make sure you explore all of your other treatment options. After all, considering the risks of surgery, what do you have to lose?
If you’ve never considered seeing a chiropractor before, you should know that chiropractic care is safe, natural, non-invasive, and drug-free. for many people, it’s also very effective.
Most patients will feel some relief immediately after that first visit; but once corrections are made to the spine, and proper alignment is restored, the body’s natural healing mechanisms can kick into high gear, repairing damage and restoring health.
Chiropractic care helps manage—or even cure—back pain problems for a lot of patients who can get back to enjoying life again.
How We Can Help With Natural Back Pain Treatment
At Los Angeles Upper Cervical, we understand what it is to suffer from chronic back pain. Many of our patients, once considered “untreatable,” came to us and found relief. We care for our patients and take pride in being able to help them avoid risky, costly surgeries.
Dr. Alex Bello is our upper cervical specialist. Dr. Bello is a practitioner of the Blair Chiropractic Technique, which is unlike traditional chiropractic methods. With Blair practitioners, there are no jarring snaps or twists, and there is no guesswork with old-fashioned 2D black-and-white X-rays.
Blair practitioners like Dr. Bello use state-of-the-art 3D diagnostic imaging technology to get a better picture of your anatomy and calculate any spinal misalignments that may be causing or exacerbating your back pain. Using cutting-edge technology for diagnosis allows the doctor to make more precise, gentler, safer, and more comfortable adjustments.
If you are at your wits’ end due to chronic back pain, call Dr. Bello before you call a surgeon. He will do everything he can to help you with an alternative, effective treatment to bring you relief. He offers upper cervical chiropractic care to patients in Brentwood, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Westwood, Culver City, Marina Del Rey, West Los Angeles, and the surrounding areas.