Avoiding Surgery

Surgery

Some 200 million Americans suffer from back pain at some point in their lives; every year almost half a milion of them undergo surgery to relieve the pain. Yet several recent medical studies have concluded that many patients who elect back surgeries don't need them. An article in the medical journal Spine stated that as many as 70% of those who underwent back surgery still suffer from back pain for up to 17 years afterward. There are cases where surgery is essential and sometimes urgent. Most surgeons will agree, however, that in the majority of instances a trial of conservative means first is best.

Surgery is often touted as the last great hope for patients in pain, especially those with joint and back pain. Advances in surgical medicine over the past fifty years have made surgery seem an obvious and simple solution for many different types of problems. But surgery is invasive and expensive, comes with a host of risks, and is often used even though it can’t actually correct the true problem that is causing a person’s pain. Although it is a critical tool in life-threatening situations, surgery is rarely the best option for joint and back soft tissue injuries. The problem is that many people are told that surgery is their only hope, that it is the last resort, when in reality it isn’t.

When Surgery Is Necessary

Although surgery is often recommended for various joint and back problems after other treatments have failed, it isn’t the only option left standing. Even if a particular problem, such as a herniated disc or another type of abnormality, exists, that problem is not always the cause of the pain, and it can be corrected using other, moreconservative treatments, such as interventional pain management techniques and minimally invasive modalities.

That said, I am not at all opposed to surgery when it truly is the best option. I have referred a number of patients to a surgeon because I knew that there were no other options for treatment. And surgical methods have been greatly improved over the years, becoming less and less invasive through the use of laparoscopic or endoscopic methods.