5 Ways to Avoid Back Surgery

Avoid unnecessary back surgery

While back surgery may be medically necessary in specific cases, data is clear that these surgeries are performed far too often with research indicating perhaps 90% are unnecessary. Here are five simple ways to reduce your risk of back surgery while also improving your outcome with treatment:

1. Eat healthier and improve activity - lifestyle habits have a strong influence on your musculoskeletal health and can increase or reduce the odds of injury and need for medical procedures. Choose an anti-inflammatory diet that emphasizes whole, unprocessed foods and limits sugars, carbs, and industrial oils. Make sure to be active regularly to build your strength, flexibility, and balance.
2. Don't ignore pain or cover it up - pain is an important signal. While it shouldn't stop you from getting out of bed, it's an important indication that you need to change what you are doing or seek help. Pushing through significant pain can be like ignoring your check engine light. You can only get away with ignoring a problem for so long.
3. Improve posture and be cautious with repetitive motions - healthy activity doesn't cause "wear and tear" on your joints, but poor posture and ergonomics certainly can. Straighten up with your head and shoulders back and focus on good form when you are active to avoid placing too much stress on your joints.
4. Choose your first doctor wisely - studies using work injury data on those undergoing back surgery determined the major modifiable predictor of surgery was the choice in provider first seen by a patient regardless of injury severity. The risk of back surgery was 9 times higher when seeing a surgeon first compared to a primary care provider. The risk of back surgery was over 28 times higher when seeing a surgeon first compared to a doctor of chiropractic. The researchers noted it is likely that "who you see is what you get."
5. Try conservative non-drug treatment first and be patient - guidelines are clear that non-drug treatment like chiropractic and acupuncture are better first-line choices to achieve better results. Some injuries heal quickly with care, while others take weeks to months, so it is important to be consistent and patient to allow your body time to heal.

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