Back Surgery or Chiropractic Care?
Dr. Ranicki
There seem to be two paths that people choose to take when they battle chronic back problems. Some people choose chiropractic care, and others choose a medicinal and surgical approach.
The chiropractic path: Some people see a chiropractor and their symptoms are largely relieved. Others find they need to come back for occasional or routine adjustment to deal with problematic places in their spine.
The surgical/medical path: Other people begin taking medicine to mask the symptoms and dull the pain of back problems. Over time they generally have to take more and more medicine, then they begin getting steroid injections, and finally they begin having surgeries. Often, one operation is not enough. The question you may have is... Can I change paths? Once I’ve gone down the medical/surgical path, can I jump paths to seeing a chiropractor? Will that really work or help at all? The answer is yes. Absolutely. Chiropractic care can be very beneficial in helping to prevent further back problems, even if you have already had surgery or even multiple back surgeries. In fact, chiropractic care can help heal from surgery and can even prevent or reduce the need to have more surgery down the road.
A few points you need to consider if you’re considering chiropractic care after surgery:
• If you’ve had a fusion, you will need care just above and below the fusion site. This is because they will move too much to compensate for the fused joint. Without good chiropractic care around the surgical site (using a low force technique), often people wind up having to get more fusions, sometimes all the way up and down the spine.
• You need a chiropractor who takes and reads x-rays as part of routine care. Be wary of getting chiropractic care after surgery that does not use and read x-rays. They need to be able to see exactly what hardware has been installed and where.
• Chiropractic is also very beneficial in the days immediately after your operation to aid in healing. Because chiropractic helps reduce and remove subluxations, your body will be better able to heal itself and fight off possible infections which is critically important after invasive back surgery. A well-trained chiropractor knows how to use low-force techniques so that the back can properly heal while still getting helpful adjustments.
If you haven’t had surgery yet: If you go see a surgeon, chances are you are going to be told that you need surgery. If that’s you and you’re weighing which path to take, why not keep all your options open by scheduling an evaluation with Dr. Ranicki? We have helped numerous people who were told they “have to have surgery” solve the problem they were experiencing and eliminate the need for back surgery. We see this all the time. By all means, we encourage you to get a medical evaluation from a qualified back doctor, but please do see us as well so we can help you see other routes to health.
If you’ve already had surgery: We cannot stress highly enough how critical it is that you consider maintaining your back after surgery which chiropractic adjustments. Even though your back may feel somewhat better after surgery, chances are it may be weakened over the long haul, so why not do yourself and your back a favor by getting it fine-tuned so you can hopefully avoid further problems?
Perhaps you are convinced this back surgery is all you will need, but so was everyone else, until things got worse again and they were back for yet another operation. It doesn’t have to be that way. If you don’t like the path you’re on, why not take a new one? We are here to help.
Dr. Ranicki
There seem to be two paths that people choose to take when they battle chronic back problems. Some people choose chiropractic care, and others choose a medicinal and surgical approach.
The chiropractic path: Some people see a chiropractor and their symptoms are largely relieved. Others find they need to come back for occasional or routine adjustment to deal with problematic places in their spine.
The surgical/medical path: Other people begin taking medicine to mask the symptoms and dull the pain of back problems. Over time they generally have to take more and more medicine, then they begin getting steroid injections, and finally they begin having surgeries. Often, one operation is not enough. The question you may have is... Can I change paths? Once I’ve gone down the medical/surgical path, can I jump paths to seeing a chiropractor? Will that really work or help at all? The answer is yes. Absolutely. Chiropractic care can be very beneficial in helping to prevent further back problems, even if you have already had surgery or even multiple back surgeries. In fact, chiropractic care can help heal from surgery and can even prevent or reduce the need to have more surgery down the road.
A few points you need to consider if you’re considering chiropractic care after surgery:
• If you’ve had a fusion, you will need care just above and below the fusion site. This is because they will move too much to compensate for the fused joint. Without good chiropractic care around the surgical site (using a low force technique), often people wind up having to get more fusions, sometimes all the way up and down the spine.
• You need a chiropractor who takes and reads x-rays as part of routine care. Be wary of getting chiropractic care after surgery that does not use and read x-rays. They need to be able to see exactly what hardware has been installed and where.
• Chiropractic is also very beneficial in the days immediately after your operation to aid in healing. Because chiropractic helps reduce and remove subluxations, your body will be better able to heal itself and fight off possible infections which is critically important after invasive back surgery. A well-trained chiropractor knows how to use low-force techniques so that the back can properly heal while still getting helpful adjustments.
If you haven’t had surgery yet: If you go see a surgeon, chances are you are going to be told that you need surgery. If that’s you and you’re weighing which path to take, why not keep all your options open by scheduling an evaluation with Dr. Ranicki? We have helped numerous people who were told they “have to have surgery” solve the problem they were experiencing and eliminate the need for back surgery. We see this all the time. By all means, we encourage you to get a medical evaluation from a qualified back doctor, but please do see us as well so we can help you see other routes to health.
If you’ve already had surgery: We cannot stress highly enough how critical it is that you consider maintaining your back after surgery which chiropractic adjustments. Even though your back may feel somewhat better after surgery, chances are it may be weakened over the long haul, so why not do yourself and your back a favor by getting it fine-tuned so you can hopefully avoid further problems?
Perhaps you are convinced this back surgery is all you will need, but so was everyone else, until things got worse again and they were back for yet another operation. It doesn’t have to be that way. If you don’t like the path you’re on, why not take a new one? We are here to help.
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