Can chiropractic help the post-surgical patient?
Dr. Wendy/Hayden Health | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years AGO
Worldwide, low back pain (LBP) affects approximately 84 percent of the general population. Back pain is the rule, not the exception, when it comes to patient visits to chiropractors and medical doctors.
How successful is spinal surgery, and what about all those patients who have had surgery, but still have problems? Can chiropractic still help?
A review of the literature in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons showed that in most cases of degenerative disk disease (DDD), non-surgical approaches are the most effective treatment choice. They report the success rate of spinal fusions for DDD has been only 50 to 60 percent.
Artificial disks have fared no better, with possible worse long-term problems. They state, "Surgery should be the last option, but too often patients think of surgery as a cure-all and are eager to embark on it." They go on to write, "Surgeons should pay close attention to the list of contraindications, and recommend surgery only for those patients who are truly likely to benefit from it." Another study reported that, after artificial disk surgery, 40 percent of the patients treated failed and had a second surgery within three years. Similar findings are reported for post-surgical spinal stenosis.
Chiropractic management is still an option for most patients who have had surgery. In a 2012 article, three patients who had prior lumbar spinal fusions were treated with spinal manipulation (three treatments over three consecutive days) followed by rehabilitation for eight weeks. After care, all three had clinical improvement that was maintained a year later. Another study reported 32 cases of post-surgical low back pain patients undergoing chiropractic care resulted in an average drop in pain from 6.4/10 to 2.3/10 (a 64 percent pain reduction).
Typically, spinal surgery should be the last resort, but we now know that is not always practiced. Chiropractic can ease the pain and disability following a failed back surgery.
For more information, contact Dr. Wendy at haydenhealth@gmail.com.
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