It has been estimated that roughly 85% of Americans will experience some form of low back pain in their lifetime. This is bad news for those who depend on movement and mobility for their job. So much of the population dealing with low back pain are so quick to go to the extreme and undergo surgery because it has been recommended by another healthcare provider, when in reality there are more complications that come with undergoing surgery for low back pain. When undergoing low back surgery one should consider the complications and risks before they decide to do so. Keep in mind not all back surgeries are necessary, in fact most are not. Since the surgery is done so close to the actual spinal cord low back surgery is a very delicate and risky procedure. One false move by the surgeon can inflict long term or life long nerve damage or even can cause paralysis in a patient.

There is also a risk of infection when undergoing low back surgery that one must be aware of. The infection can be at the surface of the skin or any of the deeper levels of the surgical wound. When a surgical procedure uses bone grafts from a cadaver, or hardware to reinforce a fusion, the patient will stand a greater chance of infection. If an infection enters the spinal canal, the patient could even get sick enough to die. This is scary to think about, especially when the patient has other alternatives to surgery, such as spinal decompression and chiropractic treatment.

The patient needs to keep in mind spinal nerves are extremely sensitive. Nerves can be damaged during back surgery procedures. As a result there can be decreased nerve signals to different areas of the body due to the damaged nerve. This can affect movement or sensation and in rare cases of nerve injury, the heart, lungs and other vital organs can be affected. In extreme cases, death can result from faulty low back surgery.

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A big concern with back surgeries is spinal fusions that do not bond well at the operated levels. The goal of the surgery is for the bones to fuse together, if the bones do not fuse together, then the operation must be repeated, sometimes multiple times. If the screws or pins used to secure and hold a fusion together are done correctly the bones will have a better chance to grow together. However, there many cases when the screws or pins can cause a problem by moving, slipping or breaking. When this happens an additional surgery will need to be performed to correct this problem.

One important thing a patient needs to be aware of is that many times there is a misdiagnosis of the patient's condition causing the low back pain. The surgery might go well, but not achieve the desired result of back pain relief. Sometimes, the patient still has pain. There are some instances where the back pain is even worse after surgery. Again this is often due to misdiagnosis of low back pain.

It must be understood that not all back surgeries are bad, but unfortunately, it is often overused or used inappropriately, which can cause long term side effects or permanent disability.

On a better note there is great news for patients who fear surgery or are misinformed about other non-invasive treatments in dealing with low back pain. For years physicians have taken a hands on approach to mechanical traction. However, today patients are requiring more treatment in less time. This is why mechanical traction and decompression therapy is being utilized in the treatment of patients with low back pain due to disc herniations, bulging discs, facet syndromes, arthritis, etc.

Spinal decompression and traction is the new innovative, less costly way of treating low back pain. Every year the United States spends about 50 billion dollars to treat spinal problems and dysfunction. In fact back pain is one of the most common reasons for work missed. The benefits of spinal decompression and traction over back surgery are overwhelming. Not only does spinal decompression and traction help with low back pain it also helps in mobilizing healthy joints, to bring in blood flow to the disc and to the spinal joints in order to promote a healthier spine and to prevent the onset of arthritis into the spine.

We at ChiroMed Plus offer spinal traction and decompression to treat various forms of low back pain. Our patients are very happy with the results that they get through spinal traction and decompression, as well as chiropractic and massage. If you are a patient that is suffering with low back pain, as well as neck pain, then spinal traction and decompression may be the answer for you.