Michael Greenspan NMT

Low Back Pain and Failed Back Surgery Syndrome

Posted on 14. Nov, 2011 by Michael in Back Pain

There are hundreds of thousands of back surgery operations carried out in the US each year thereby making back surgery one of the most common surgical operations. Common procedures include diskectomies, laminectomies, and fusions. Many people who eventually get back surgery begin by experiencing back problems such as herniated or slipped discs. Conventional medical practice normally begins by prescribing rest, pain killers and physical therapy for back pain. If the patient fails to get relief, doctors resort to epidural injections for back pain and if these fail, the normal course of treatment action is to recommend surgery. Neuromuscular therapy and posture realignment exercises are rarely considered in the treatment plan for lower, middle, or upper back pain.

Despite the fact that most surgeons do not consider surgery as effective against back pain, the large majority of patients seem to think that it is. The fact of the matter is that surgery should only be undertaken where a nerve root is compressed and there is neurological evidence of this such as, numbness or wasting away of muscle. If none of these are present, and you’re dealing mostly with back pain, then surgery should generally be avoided.

One thing to note is that many patients suffering from leg pain also experience lower back pain which can be quite intense. Patients with persistent pain and/or numbness are medically referred to as surgical failures. The condition is known as ‘failed back surgery syndrome’. There have been numerous conferences devoted to this medical issue because once your body is altered by surgery, you can never go back. Few options exist after failed medical surgery and re-operation is complicated. The normal treatment is to prescribe an opiate patch, implant a spinal cord simulator or prescribe prescription drugs. In some cases, more than one of these are used.

Many times these approaches do not work since the majority of low back pain causes are from muscular-skeletal problems like muscle imbalances and trigger points. If you had a muscle, tendon, ligament, trigger point, muscle imbalance, joint or disk injury before the surgery, it’s likely it is still there. These problems cannot be corrected by surgery and will remain after surgery.

People who have undergone back surgery and still have low back pain should seek the opinion of a qualified Neuromuscular Therapist specializing in muscle imbalances, trigger points, and posture realignment therapy in order to ascertain whether there is an underlying problem.

There are natural options to implants and opiate medications to help relieve your low back pain. These include; trigger point therapy, postural alignment exercises, ice packs, strength exercises, stretching exercises, and natural anti-inflammatories. Through counseling and behavior therapy, patients also learn to reduce their need for medication and agree to a drugless management program. Neuromuscular Therapy and Posture Realignment Therapy has resolved low back pain for many people and helped thousands with failed back surgery syndrome.

If you’re a Los Angeles Back Pain sufferer or looking for a pain management or pain relief specialist, call now.

Tags: herniated disc, lower back pain, slipped disc