Should You Have Back Surgery?

Should You Have Back Surgery?

This is a question I get all the time.  Back Surgery is something that everyone with bad back pain considers. Let’s face it, when you have back pain, you lose the ability to enjoy almost all aspects of your life.

The first place many people go is their medical doctor.  Most of the time this gets you some anti-inflammatory medicine or muscle relaxers.  The likelihood of that helping is minimal.  The next place they will send you is probably the physical therapist.  You have a bit better chance of getting some help there, but studies show that your best bet is the Chiropractor.

But let’s say that nothing seems to work. Then back surgery seems to be a great idea.  Or is it?  You see, back surgery has a big problem.  Bending over requires movement between the bottom 5 bones of the back and the sacrum.  Surgery often involves fusing 2 of the bones together.  This eliminates 1 of the joints involved in bending over.  This puts extra stress on the joint above or below to compensate for that lost movement.  Studies show that you will need a second surgery within a few years because that joint became overwhelmed with biomechanical stress.

What Should You Do?

That all depends on what the problem is.  I would keep looking at different chiropractors.  They are all different.  Just like if you needed stomach surgery, you would probably get a second opinion.  You should do the same with a chiropractor.  For instance, we specialize in back pain.  Therefore, we have things like a decompression table for bulging discs.  We have the experience to know that long-term back pain is often a problem somewhere else in the spine.  We have the tools to look for the cause of back pain.

I know that sometimes there is no other option but to make surgery your last option.  Because once you have surgery, you can’t undo what they did.

should I have back surgery?