Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) is not a true syndrome but a generalized term that is often used to describe the condition of patients who have not had a successful result with back or spine surgery and experience continued pain after surgery.

Unfortunately, 20-40 percent of patients will fail to gain the desired outcome, and about 10 percent of patients will be worse after the initial surgery. What happens when you still have pain after surgery? Can chiropractic help?

Most spinal surgery is done to accomplish one of these two things: decompress a nerve root that is pinched or stabilize a painful joint. That being said, the most common cause of FBSS is an incorrect initial diagnosis of a patient’s original condition. Surgeons look for an anatomic lesion in the spine that they can correlate with a patient’s pain pattern. Some lesions are more reliable than others. For example, leg pain from a disc herniation pinching a nerve root is more reliable than back pain caused by degenerative disc disease. There are other sources of pain that can mimic back pathology such as piriformis syndrome, sacroiliac joint dysfunction and hip pathology.

Other causes of FBSS include: Administering improper or incorrect surgical treatment(s) for the condition, Performing surgery at an incorrect location on the spine, Failure of spinal fusion surgery, Fusion surgery that has transferred problems to another level of the spine, Fragment of disc or bone still pinching a nerve, Hardware insertion, Scar tissue formation that impinges on a nerve root, Inadequate decompression of a nerve root, Preoperative nerve damage that does not heal after surgery, or nerve damage occurring during surgery.

Chiropractic management is still an option for most patients who have had surgery. A thorough examine is necessary to make certain the source of the symptoms is specifically identified. Most patients with FBSS have a peripheral, mechanical, structural lesion that is the source of the symptoms, making them well suited for chiropractic care. The chiropractic adjustment is modified to the structural and mechanical changes secondary to the surgery. Rehabilitative exercises are also needed to strengthen the supporting areas.

FBSS is a difficult problem. Fortunately, chiropractic can ease the pain and disability following most of the FBSS cases.

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For more information, contact Dr. Wendy at haydenhealth@gmail.com.