What are good odds? 1 in 50? 50 in 100? The odds of spine
surgery patients developing failed back surgical syndrome are 4 to 50%, 4 to 50
in 100. (1) Are those good odds? OrthoIllinois Chiropractic offers McHenry
chiropractic care, non-surgical care, with odds at least equal to those odds
for our McHenry back pain patients seeking relief of pain.
First, back surgery and its ramifications for back pain
relief. One article discusses when back surgery is the right choice. Sometimes,
it is necessary, but the author invites a surgical candidate to know what it
does to the spine. This article counsels that “the decision to consider back
surgery should always come after trying non-surgical or ‘conservative’ options.
However, when ‘the pain is persistent and clearly related to a mechanical
problem in the spine,’” it may make sense. (1) Today, spinal fusion surgeries are growing in
use.
What happens in a spinal fusion? The intent is to fuse an
unstable joint to prevent motion and thus pain. Two spinal bones – vertebrae –
next to each other are joined surgically to become one unit. Metal screws and
rods may be used to do this. Fusion surgeries are major surgeries, and they
don’t always succeed. One Harvard Medical School professor, Dr. Steven Atlas,
explains that “Based on the evidence, the indications for fusion are few and
far between, but that doesn't stop surgeons from doing them or patients from
getting them." He even shares that pain is typically reduced by 50%, and
very few fusion surgery patients have no pain after the surgery. (2) So the
odds of surgical success with fusion are 50%. What about the odds of
chiropractic success for back pain?
Equal if not better. Chiropractic care with a technique
called Cox Technic flexion distraction spinal manipulation and decompression
offers promise. (Listen
in to this discussion about failed back surgical syndrome care with Cox Technic.)
Before surgery, Cox Technic odds of pain relief are up to 91% for low back
conditions like disc degeneration, herniation, spondylolisthesis,
sprain/strain, etc. After back surgery and the post-surgical
continued pain experience some back pain sufferers have, greater than 50% pain
relief. The study showed specifically that 81% of postsurgical patients
receiving a mean of 11 visits over a 49-day period of active care found relief.
50% relief is good. (3)
We all seek the best odds possible when making a decision,
especially a decision as big as surgery. Back surgery offers stunning odds: 4
to 50% that a back pain patient who undergoes back surgery will experience
failed back surgical syndrome. What comes with failed back surgical syndrome?
Pain, obviously, but also repeat surgeries, higher costs, decreases in surgical
success rates, and other physical, physiological and pathological issues come,
too. (1) With odds like this, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic invites McHenry back
pain sufferers to consider chiropractic care.
Certainly, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic would hope to be a pre-surgical
stop that relieves and controls McHenry back pain and potentially
staves off a lumbar spine surgery, but also offers McHenry
chiropractic services to reduce post-surgical continued pain when it occurs.
OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is equipped and ready to help McHenry
back pain patients who are contemplating back surgery as well as those who have
undergone back surgery and have continued pain. Either way, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
knows that McHenry back pain sufferers are seeking relief and may
well be quite accepting of the 50% odds of relief as a desirable outcome.
Contact OrthoIllinois Chiropractic today for a pre-back surgery or a
post-back surgery consultation to see how McHenry chiropractic care
may benefit you.