Spinal Surgery is a leading surgical procedure in America, with the total number in the U.S. approaching half a million per year. About 150,000 of those surgeries are spinal fusions. Unfortunately, at least 50 percent of all spinal surgery patients will ultimately fail to to achieve their desired outcome. In fact, research says that a minimum of 10% of patients will be worse after the initial surgery (I think this number is at least 15% too low). And then comes the suggestion for yet another spinal surgery.
Spinal structures including bones, nerves, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels, are packed in very close to one another. Because surgery in the spine is itself physically stressful, it can weaken and destabilize the area even further. As a result of surgery, structures that have not been removed can become damaged or mechanically stressed, frequently becoming a new source of pain and degeneration.
Surgery will always result in some amount of scar tissue build up (HERE). If the scar tissue itself forms near any nerves, it becomes still another source of pressure and pain. This does not even take into account that scar tissue has the potential to be 1,000 times more pain sensitive than normal tissue! Since disc surgery takes place near inflamed and irritated nerves, there is a great possibility that the nerves will be damaged further during the procedure. If this happens, there will be even more pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, stiffness, and other problems ---- even beyond what you are already dealing with now.
Low back surgery also requires the use of anesthesia which can result in other medical risks including death.
One of the huge problems facing patients today is infection. Due to ANTIBIOTIC OVERUSE, superbugs roam the hallways and operating rooms of America's hospitals. My brother (an MD) thought he was going to have to have a Lumbar Fusion Surgery a few years ago. He and his wife (also an MD) were genuinely freaked out at the prospect of having hardware inserted in his spine. When questioned about this, their answer was "infection".
Spinal surgeries also require large recovery times... time away from work, which most patients cannot afford. Recovery time can be anywhere from 6 weeks for a laminectomy to over a year for Spinal Fusion.
Even if the surgery is successful in and of itself, and even if no procedure-related problems actually occur; there is a high probability that within 2 to 5 years, another surgery will be needed to fix the levels above and below the targeted levels of the first surgery (a fact that any doctor will verify). Once you go down this road of surgery, you will increase the chance that you will need further surgeries in the future. And if you have studied this issue out and realize the odds are not great for your first spinal surgery to work well, go online and look at the odds of doing well with a second or third spinal surgery. They're literally in the toilet!
What does an Honest Spinal Surgeon have to say about Spinal Surgery?
What does that same Surgeon have to say about Spinal Decompression Therapy?
"I make my living doing surgery but the answer I give my patient is you do not need surgery. In fact, if you look at the literature on herniated discs, patients who don't have surgery and patients who do have surgery feel about the same after one year. There is no significant difference between the two group....... As a surgeon, I only want to do surgery when I absolutely have to. Spinal Decompression Therapy gives my patients a more conservative treatment option that can eliminate the need for surgery altogether, and that's a very good thing". Pain management pioneer, Dr. Hubert Rosomoff, MD, discussing the 50,000 Failed Back Surgery Syndrome cases seen each year in America. During this lecture to the American Academy of Pain Management Symposium, he gave his opinion on Spinal Surgery. Dr. Rosomoff believes that Spinal Surgery is warranted in only 1 in 500 cases. Gulp!
As Dr. Rosomoff (a neurosurgeon) stated, surgery may be appropriate for a selected few patients ---- 1 in 500. If you are considering surgery, I would literally beg you to first exhaust the alternatives, including Spinal Decompression Therapy.
If you think that I am over-hyping the large numbers of potential problems that people have with spinal surgery, I would issue you a simple challenge. Search the internet message boards concerning back surgery (HERE). Better yet, find 10 people who have had the same spinal surgery that doctors are pushing you to have and talk with them. If you find 3 out of 10 who are happy with their surgery, I will be surprised.
To find out if you are a candidate for Spinal Decompression Therapy, simply CONTACT OUR OFFICE at (417) 934-6337 to schedule a free consultation with Doctor Schierling. He will sit down with you, talk with you, review your medical records, evaluate your unique situation, and determine whether or not Spinal Decompression Therapy could possibly help you.
Spinal Decompression Therapy is a viable option to surgery for many spinal problems, including the following...
Call (417) 934-6337 to set up a completely free, no-obligation consultation with Dr. Schierling to find out whether or not Spinal Decompression Therapy MIGHT BE RIGHT FOR YOU.