Question? Is there less back surgery being performed these daya??

I keep reading posts from people with back pain and they talk about their meds and their tests, but they don't seem to feel surgery is an option.  I' m wondering if others see this trend as well.

I know, personally, I had back surgery many years ago, and it definitely was a help for me, although I do have sciatica from time to time.  But others don't seem to even consider this an option.  Just thinking.......

Lindaloo

Hmmm...I don't think it's gotten less but actually more over the years..

Last year, there was over 1.2 million spine surgeries performed....

I tend to think we get a bit of a skewed look at things on boards like these..

Not only do we not hear about the success stories as much because people are not in pain anymore...but we hear more about the failures since it's a chronic pain board.

I just know that I always tell people that unless it's an emergency and they need surgery ASAP...to make sure they get 2nd and 3rd opinions...and only do it after non surgical ways don't work.

There is certainly a time frame that they need to be careful of with their Dr. to not let any symptoms become permanent while doing non surgical modalities...but that is why it's important to work with a Board Certified Neurosurgeon or BC Orthopedic surgeon.

The stats are that close to 85% of people with spine issues will have their symptoms resolved non surgically...that is why I try to urge people to work with their Drs.

My mom had lumbar surgery back in the mid 80's and has only had some pains starting back up in the last few years.

And then there is me that has had 3 failed fusions over the last 11 years...

Personally, when I first injured my back, it hurt like crazy, but surgery was not an option at that time, my personal choice. I had been offered a micro-discectomy, but.opted for the shots and stuff. Then a good blow to the hip tripled the extent of my injuries, and 3 different surgeons said, fusion or eventual paraplegic, so I took the obvious choice.

I don't think there's less surgery these days, just more effective techniques being employed, and more scrutinization of surgical candidates, to bring up the percentage of successful surgeries, so, less people that you'd hear about having them, since usually the people who get out of pain aren't gonna be online looking for answers for pain. That's my take on it.

Hi Linda,

For me personally, the only way i would ever have surgery is if it was an absolutely necessary emergency ONLY. I will live with the pain that i have rather than taking a chance of it becoming worse. However, i can say that i don't have bad nerve pain either, (at least no consistently and when i do get it its pretty short lived - knock on wood) so if i had to deal with that, i might have a different opinion. And of course who knows what the future will bring but at least as of right now, i wouldn't do it.