When to Have Back Surgery and When to See a Chiropractor Instead

Bottom Line:

Many people believe that having surgery is the best, most permanent “fix” for an injured or problematic part of their spine.

They might think that the best time to have back surgery is when they’ve been dealing with it for a few weeks or more.

And while in a very small percentage of back pain cases surgery has reportedly provided some level of relief…

In addition to the inherent risks associated with such invasive treatments, it is also true that the permanent changes to your anatomy that surgery creates can result in a variety of new issues.

For instance, “adjacent segment disease” is one of the potential complications after surgery and is the most common cause of reoperation in people with low back pain.

Now, it’s likely that most of us wouldn’t use surgery as a first or even a second option to get relief from our low back discomfort.

Most of our neighbors in Austin, Texas would probably seek out non-invasive back pain treatment before thinking about surgery.

But some of us who suffer chronic low back pain—defined as discomfort that lasts more than three months—may have questioned if we’d need to give it some serious thought.

So let’s think about it as a group right now.

Why it Matters:

According to a recent study, patients with low back pain and disc problems who received chiropractic care found the same level of relief, if not more, than those with the same disease who underwent invasive back procedures.

The chiropractic patients experienced relief without any of the surgical dangers.

When to Have Back Surgery 

In Austin, Texas, we obviously specialize in non-invasive back pain therapy.

However, since we’re also looking at when surgery should be considered in this exercise, let’s look at another intriguing result from that research.

In actuality, those people who didn’t experience “amazing” results from chiropractic care turned out to be excellent surgical candidates.

Therefore, it is sensible to visit a chiropractor before considering having back surgery, regardless of where you are on the low back pain continuum in terms of severity, duration, etc.

We’ll put you on the road to relief in either case.

Let’s recap…

• According to estimates, 60% of sciatica patients with back pain who underwent chiropractic treatment benefited to the same extent as if they had undergone surgery.
• The likelihood of problems following back surgery is thought to be roughly 25% of individuals.
• Research overwhelmingly indicates that patients with disc herniations and low back pain should first explore chiropractic therapy before considering surgical options.

Next Steps: 

Knowing when to have back surgery and when to postpone it can be challenging. We recognize that having any surgery is a huge decision.

It makes sense to look into all of your possibilities given the time you’ll have to spend away from work and the potential for having to live with outcomes that aren’t exactly great.

We hope you’ll consider us if you’re looking for non-invasive back pain therapy in Austin, Texas.

Our practice’s mission is to assist you in avoiding unnecessary and risky medical procedures as well as prescription drugs for pain relief and healing in favor of natural, conservative approaches that are, well, frequently more successful (especially in the long-term).

However, rest assured that we will let you know if you are one of the rare individuals who we really believe may benefit from surgery.

Your well-being always comes first in our practice.

And based on your objectives and our findings, our caring team of medical specialists is committed to giving you the best care suggestions.

We’re here for you, and it’s how we think healthcare should be provided.

Science Sources: 

Microdiskectomy. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2010.

Risk of Complications in Spine Surgery. Open Orthop J. 2015.