Avoiding Surgery for Your Back with Chiropractic Treatment
Making decisions about your health can often be difficult. If you suffer from back pain, the discomfort can be constant, but the idea of having back surgery may be even less appealing than the chronic pain. Any type of surgery has risks, and very often should only be looked upon as a last resort. Surgery is costly and isn’t always guaranteed to work. Despite the risks, a 2013 study found that surgery for back pain is on the rise, according to Men’s Journal. There are alternatives to surgery and one of them is chiropractic care. At Total Chiropractic Care and Wellness, we can help you find relief from your pain, without resorting to surgery. We’ll also tell you when surgery is the best option. But we want to let you know how chiropractic adjustments can assist in effective pain management and help you avoid surgery.
Back Surgery is Often Ineffective
A 2004 study in the journal Spine, looked into the effects of lower back surgery and found that it wasn’t always successful. The study looked at more than 18,000 patients who were enrolled in the National Spine Network’s database. The researchers then focused on 3,632 patients who previously had lower back surgery. All of the patients were administered questionnaires asking them questions about the state of their health.
The researchers found that patients who had prior back surgery had significantly worse general health than those who had avoided surgery. They also suffered in the areas of physical functioning and mental health.
Going to a Chiropractor Rarely Results in Surgery
Going to a chiropractor can help avoid a risky operation. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), injured workers are 28 times less likely to have spinal surgery if their first contact with a medical professional is a chiropractor rather than a surgeon.
The ACA cites a 2013 study which looked at workers in the state of Washington who filed worker’s compensation claims for back injuries. The researchers then looked at medical bill data to determine if they had surgery within three years of filing the claim. Breaking it down by percentages, about 42.7 percent of the workers who saw a surgeon first had surgery, compared to only 1.5 percent of patients who had surgery after seeing a chiropractor first.
How Chiropractic Care Can Benefit You
According to Fox News, repeated visits to a chiropractor can over time, realign your spine and optimize your overall health. Chiropractor Brian Elwartowski told Fox that if certain nerves are squeezed by a twist in the spine, they won’t function as well as if they were straight. “Chiropractic [care] allows the nerves to work at their most optimum ability,” he said, “allowing the body to heal at its optimum ability.”
At Total Chiropractic Care and Wellness, your doctor, Todd Goldman is trained in chiropractic adjustments to correct spinal misalignment. After studying your medical history, we’ll pinpoint any vertebrae that need adjusting and then use several different hands-on adjustment techniques to work them back into optimal position.
Total Chiropractic Care and Wellness Can Help You Avoid Surgery
If you have back pain, why look at surgery as your first option? Total Chiropractic Care and Wellness may be able to get you back on the road to wellness without risking further damage to your health. Contact us today.
Please note that the author of this piece is not a doctor and the information in this material is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your doctor or medical professional for specific information regarding your individual situation.
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