If you’re one of the millions of people suffering from low back pain, you know how much it can turn your world upside down. Simple things like getting out of bed, bending down to pick something up, or even just sitting comfortably can become a painful struggle. When the pain becomes constant and severe, many people start to think about surgery as their only way out. It’s natural to want a quick fix, especially when you’re hurting so much. But what if there were other options that could help you find lasting relief without the big risks that come with going under the knife?
At Lake Mary Chiropractic, we see people every day who are desperate for relief from their back pain. While surgery can be a lifesaver for some, it’s a serious step with real risks. For many, conservative care, like spinal decompression therapy and focused shockwave therapy, offers a powerful path to healing. In this super detailed guide, we’re going to dive deep into why surgery isn’t always the best first choice, talk about something called “Failed Back Surgery Syndrome,” and show you how amazing non-surgical options can be.
The Big Decision: To Cut or Not To Cut?
Imagine your spine as a stack of building blocks, with soft, jelly-like cushions (called discs) in between. These discs act like shock absorbers. Sometimes, these discs can bulge or herniate, meaning they push out and press on the nerves in your spine. This can cause a lot of pain, numbness, or weakness in your back and even down your legs. Other problems like arthritis, narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis), or instability can also cause severe back pain.
When you’re dealing with constant, severe back pain, a doctor might suggest surgery to fix the problem. Common back surgeries include:
- Discectomy: Removing part of a herniated disc.
- Laminectomy: Removing a small part of the bone (lamina) to create more space for nerves.
- Spinal Fusion: Fusing two or more vertebrae together to stop movement and reduce pain.
These surgeries aim to take pressure off nerves or stabilize the spine. For some people, especially those with severe nerve damage, loss of bowel or bladder control, or pain that just won’t quit after trying everything else, surgery can be a necessary and life-changing procedure.
However, it’s super important to understand that surgery is a major operation, and like any surgery, it comes with risks.
The Scary Side of Surgery: What Could Go Wrong?
While surgeons do their best to make things safe, there are always potential problems with back surgery. Here are some of the risks:
- Anesthesia problems: Some people can have bad reactions to the medicine used to put you to sleep.
- Infection: Any time you have a cut on your body, there’s a chance of infection, which can be serious in the spine.
- Bleeding: There’s always a risk of too much bleeding during surgery.
- Blood clots: These can form in your legs and travel to your lungs, which is very dangerous.
- Nerve damage: The surgeon is working very close to your nerves. There’s a risk they could accidentally damage a nerve, leading to more pain, numbness, weakness, or even paralysis.
- Spinal fluid leak: The membrane covering your spinal cord can sometimes tear, leading to a leak of spinal fluid. This might need more surgery to fix.
- Failure to fuse: If you have a spinal fusion, sometimes the bones don’t grow together properly, which means the surgery wasn’t fully successful. This is more common in smokers.
- Pain that doesn’t go away, or gets worse: This is a big one, and we’ll talk more about it next.
- New symptoms: Even if the surgery fixes one problem, it can sometimes cause new problems or pain in other areas of your spine.
- Need for more surgery: Some people might need another back surgery down the road, even if the first one seemed to help.
These risks are why doctors usually recommend trying other treatments before jumping into surgery.
The Elephant in the Room: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS)
One of the most disheartening things for someone who has gone through the pain, recovery, and risks of back surgery is when it doesn’t actually work. This is a real problem, and doctors even have a name for it: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS).
So, what exactly is FBSS? It’s a general term for when people continue to have back pain, leg pain, or other symptoms even after having one or more back surgeries. It’s not that the surgeon necessarily made a mistake; rather, it means that the surgery didn’t achieve the desired relief.
How common is it? Studies show that between 10% and 40% of people who have back surgery can end up with FBSS. That’s a pretty big number! Imagine going through all that, only to still be in pain.
Why does FBSS happen? There are many reasons why surgery might not work as hoped:
- Incorrect diagnosis: Sometimes, the real cause of the pain wasn’t fully identified before surgery. So, even if the surgery fixed one thing, it didn’t fix the actual problem causing all the pain.
- Scar tissue (epidural fibrosis): After surgery, scar tissue can form around the nerves. This scar tissue can sometimes press on the nerves and cause new pain.
- Spinal instability: Even if a fusion was done, there might be instability at other levels of the spine. Or, in some cases, removing bone during surgery can make the spine less stable.
- Nerve damage from surgery: As mentioned earlier, nerves can be damaged during the operation.
- Recurrent disc herniation: The same disc that was fixed might herniate again, or a new disc might herniate.
- Pain from other sources: Sometimes, the pain isn’t just from the spine itself. It can come from muscles, ligaments, or even other joints like the sacroiliac joint. Surgery on the spine won’t fix those problems.
- Psychological factors: Things like anxiety, depression, or stress can also play a big role in how a person feels pain and recovers from surgery. These issues need to be addressed alongside physical problems.
- Operating at the wrong level: In very rare cases, a surgeon might operate on the wrong level of the spine, which obviously won’t help the pain.
The sad reality of FBSS is that it leaves many people feeling hopeless and frustrated. They’ve gone through a lot, spent a lot of money, and still don’t have the relief they were promised. This is why exploring conservative, non-surgical options first is so incredibly important.
A Smarter Path: Conservative Care First
For most people suffering from low back pain, the best approach is to try conservative care before considering surgery. This means treatments that don’t involve cutting into your body. Why? Because many back pain problems can get better on their own or with the right non-surgical help. And if conservative care works, you avoid all the risks of surgery, including the chance of FBSS.
At Lake Mary Chiropractic, we focus on empowering your body’s natural ability to heal. We offer two powerful non-surgical therapies that have helped countless people find relief: Spinal Decompression Therapy and Focused Shockwave Therapy.
Spinal Decompression Therapy: Gentle Relief for Your Discs
Imagine your spinal discs as sponges that have been squished and dried out. Spinal decompression therapy is like gently stretching your spine to create more space between your vertebrae. This helps take pressure off your discs and the nerves around them. It also allows nutrients and water to flow back into the discs, helping them heal.
How does it work? You lie comfortably on a special table, and a harness is placed around your hips. The table then gently and slowly stretches your spine. The stretching is controlled by a computer, so it’s very precise and safe. It’s not painful; in fact, many people find it relaxing.
What does it help with? Spinal decompression therapy is often used for:
- Herniated discs: When a disc pushes out and presses on a nerve.
- Bulging discs: Similar to a herniated disc, but the disc hasn’t fully broken open.
- Degenerative disc disease: When the discs wear down over time.
- Sciatica: Pain that travels down the leg from the lower back, often caused by nerve pressure.
- Spinal stenosis: Narrowing of the spinal canal.
Is it effective? Yes! Many studies have shown that spinal decompression therapy can be very effective in reducing pain and improving function for people with chronic low back pain caused by disc problems. Some research even shows that it can lead to a decrease in the size of disc herniations and an increase in disc height. Imagine getting your discs to heal without surgery!
Focused Shockwave Therapy: Healing from Within
Focused shockwave therapy is a cutting-edge treatment that uses sound waves to heal damaged tissues. Don’t worry, it’s not like the shock you get from static electricity! These are high-energy sound waves that are focused on the painful area.
How does it work? When these sound waves hit your tissues, they create tiny bubbles and vibrations. This helps to:
- Increase blood flow: More blood means more nutrients and oxygen for healing.
- Reduce pain: The shockwaves can disrupt pain signals and help release natural pain-relieving chemicals.
- Break down scar tissue: It can help break up old, stubborn scar tissue that might be causing pain.
- Promote new tissue growth: It can kickstart your body’s natural healing processes, helping to build new, healthy tissue.
What does it help with? Focused shockwave therapy is gaining popularity for chronic pain conditions, including:
- Chronic low back pain: Especially when it’s related to muscles, ligaments, or fascia (the connective tissue around muscles).
- Myofascial pain syndrome: Pain caused by “trigger points” in muscles.
- Tendon problems: Like Achilles tendonitis or rotator cuff issues.
- Plantar fasciitis: Heel pain.
Is it effective? Research is growing, and early studies show promising results for focused shockwave therapy in treating chronic low back pain. It can significantly reduce pain and improve function, especially when combined with other therapies like exercise.
Why Start with Conservative Care?
Choosing conservative care first just makes sense. Here’s why:
- Lower Risk: As we talked about, surgery comes with many potential risks, including the chance of FBSS. Non-surgical treatments are much safer.
- Less Invasive: No cuts, no anesthesia, no long recovery in the hospital. You can often continue with your daily life while getting treatment.
- Addresses the Root Cause: Instead of just cutting out a problem, therapies like spinal decompression and shockwave therapy aim to heal the underlying issues and improve your body’s natural function.
- Cost-Effective: Conservative care is almost always less expensive than surgery.
- You Can Always Get Surgery Later: If conservative treatments don’t provide enough relief, surgery is still an option. But if you jump to surgery first and it doesn’t work, you’ve gone through a lot for nothing.
The Role of Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is all about helping your body heal itself by making sure your spine is properly aligned and your nervous system is working its best. A chiropractor can identify areas of your spine that aren’t moving correctly and use gentle adjustments to restore proper motion. This can reduce pressure on nerves, decrease inflammation, and improve overall function.
At Lake Mary Chiropractic, we believe in a holistic approach. This means we look at your whole body, not just your back pain. We’ll combine treatments like spinal decompression and focused shockwave therapy with chiropractic adjustments, exercises, and lifestyle advice to give you the best chance at lasting relief.
When Surgery Might Be the Only Option
While we firmly believe in starting with conservative care, it’s also important to be realistic. For a small number of people, surgery truly is the best, or even the only, option. This includes situations where:
- There’s clear and progressive nerve damage: For example, if you’re rapidly losing strength in your leg or foot.
- Loss of bowel or bladder control: This is a serious sign of nerve compression and needs immediate medical attention.
- Intolerable pain that doesn’t respond to any conservative treatment: If you’ve tried everything for an extended period and the pain is still unbearable, surgery might be considered.
- Certain structural problems: In some cases, like severe spinal deformities or fractures, surgery is necessary to stabilize the spine.
It’s crucial to have an open and honest conversation with your doctor about all your options and to understand the potential benefits and risks of each. If surgery is recommended, it’s always a good idea to get a second opinion.
Your Path to Relief Starts Here
Don’t let low back pain control your life. While surgery might seem like the quickest way out, a conservative, non-surgical approach can offer lasting relief with far fewer risks. Spinal decompression therapy and focused shockwave therapy are powerful tools that can help your body heal naturally.
At Lake Mary Chiropractic, we are committed to providing you with the most effective, evidence-based and safest treatments for your back pain. We’ll work with you to create a personalized plan that addresses the root cause of your pain and helps you get back to living your life to the fullest.
If you’re ready to explore non-surgical solutions for your low back pain, visit us at www.lakemarychiropractic.com or give us a call at 407.302.5161 to schedule a consultation. Let’s work together to help you find relief and get back to doing the things you love, without the fear of “failed back surgery.”
