Surgery For Back Pain, Herniated Discs, and Sciatica?

The Dangerous Myths and Truths About Back Surgery

Over 200,000 spinal fusion surgeries take place each year in the United States. Back pain has now become the third largest cause for surgery in the country.

But is back surgery all it’s cracked up to be? Find out for yourself as we uncover three of the most dangerous myths and misunderstandings in regards to surgery of the spine.

#1 Myth: Back surgery is required to treat all recurring or chronic back pain cases.

Perhaps no myth about back surgery is so pervasive as the inevitability of spinal surgery for treating recurring or chronic back pain. The good news is surgery is un-necessary in many cases, maybe even yours.

Outside of treatment for a traumatic injury or an operation to remove tumors from the spine, there is not much supporting scientific evidence that proves back surgery as more effective than much less invasive methods of fixing back pain. Some studies even suggest that less than 2% of all back pain sufferers would benefit from any form of spinal surgery.

Fortunately for those suffering from back pain, there are several safe and effective back pain treatments which require no surgery ranging from physical therapy, inversion therapy, to chiropractic care, to muscle balance therapies.

#2 Myth: Herniated discs require corrective back surgery

Corrective surgery for a herniated disc is among the most common reasons for spinal surgery. Howeverm surgery rarely corrects the underlying cause of the condition itself, especially in the case of one or more herniated discs.

Contrary to what you may have heard, most herniated discs are not caused by any single movement. Rather, they are most frequently caused by postural dysfunctions brought on by long-term imbalances of the major muscle groups in the body.

Imagine for a moment that your muscles are supporting your back like the tires on your vehicle. If your tires are in proper alignment, they wear out evenly and last much longer. If they are out of alignment long enough though and it’s only a matter of time before a potentially dangerous blowout.

Similarly, when the muscles in your back become out of whack– by one muscle group becoming stronger or more flexible than an opposing set, unequal stress on the spine eventually pulls it into an abnormal curvature. Before long, the increased wear and tear on the spinal disc in the affected area may cause the disc to bulge or rupture.

A discectomy is a fairly common surgical approach to treating back pain from herniation of the discs. This type of back surgery tries to decrease pressure on spinal nerves by removing material from the ruptured disc that has been forced out of its normal position. Eleviate the pressure, and eleviatere the pain.

Don't call your doctor to schedule this procedure just yet....this sounds like a effective option until one realizes that the muscle imbalances and postural dysfunctions that caused the disc to herniate in the first place are still lingering. If those underlying issues are not acknowledged and corrected, it won't be long before the back pain returns, often as acute pain from a recurrent herniated disc.

#3 Myth: Back surgery is a safe and effective approach for treating back pain, herniated dics and sciatica.

Doctors have come a long way and advances in spinal surgery techniques have decreased the harshness of some surgical procedures available today. Yet all forms of back surgery continue to involve significant risks, not the least of which is failure resulting in the patient having more pain and less mobility than before the surgery.

The majority of common back surgeries today are for the treatment of lower back pain. Lumbar spinal fusion is one of the most common surgical procedures employed for that.

In even the best case scenarios, spinal fusion surgery fails to fuse the vertebrae in 5% to 10% of operations. And more than 20% of patients fail to get back pain relief from the surgery – again, in the best case scenario.

Please not that back surgery is the only category of surgery with a clinical name for failure: failed back surgery syndrome. The most common cause of failed back surgery? Improper patient selection – where the actual source of pain (the area to be operated on) is impropperly treated. In other words, spine surgery performed to correct a problem that never existed!

Can this be possible? Many times back pain is actually referred pain from other areas. Sciatic Nerve Pain, Piriformis syndrome, sacroiliac joint dysfunction and hip osteoarthritis may cause pains that appears to be coming directly from the spine.

Other times the problem originates in the spine, but from a different area than the one operated on. Either way, treating the wrong area will certainly fail to improve pain symptoms.

Moral of the story is back surgery may or may not help with your back pain.

About 1 in 50 back pain sufferers are good candidates for back surgery. However, many will find non-surgical alternative approaches just as successful at relieving back pain as spine surgery, without the dangerous risks. Always consider back surgery strictly as a final option after you have considered all other options.

Click on the link below if you would like to learn more about:

alternative treatments for back pain