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Do You Really Need Back Surgery?

Back surgery is something that should be used as a last resort if alternative methods of treating your pain are not successful. Chiropractic care can be an excellent form of treatment for back pain. If that doesn't work, your doctor may suggest a back surgery - but only as a last resort.
Dr. Joseph Thomas DC

 

Back pain is very common and back surgery often fails to relieve back pain. So, is back surgery for neck pain or back pain necessary?  The answer is sometimes.  Most often, back surgery is not even considered unless conservative measures have failed and even then it is not often indicated.  Back surgery is usually reserved for times when a nerve is pinched, the spinal cord is compressed or there is instability in the spine.

Your doctor may recommend back surgery if you have neck pain or back pain accompanied by symptoms of nerve damage.  There are many types of back surgery being utilized today. The most common types of back surgery today are:

1.      Diskectomy  - removes herniated part of a disk to relieve pressure on a nerve

2.      Laminectomy – purpose is to enlarge the spinal canal and relieve the pressure from spinal Stenosis

3.      Fusion – usually performed for instability in the spine

4.      Intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET) – purpose is to reduce a disk bulge and eliminate the related spinal nerve irritation

5.      Vertebroplasty – usually performed on compressed or fractured vertebrae

6.      Artificial disks – alternative to spinal fusions. This is still relatively new and still under investigation.

Before you submit to any form of back surgery, always consider getting a second opinion.

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