Whether young or old, back pain is common to most people and is one of the most common complaints to family doctors. It is a fact that back problems typically respond to nonsurgical treatments, such as anti-inflammatory medications, heat, physical therapy, and chiropractic care. Back surgery can help relieve some causes of back pain, but it is rarely necessary. Most back pain resolves on its own within three months and if conservative treatments have not worked and your pain is persistent and disabling, surgery might be an option.

Ask your medical physician, as well as your chiropractor, about what is the recovery from back surgery? Be sure that all the members of your health care team are working together to complement the care you are receiving before making a decision about back surgery.

There are four common types of back surgery:

• Diskectomy. To relieve irritation and inflammation of a nerve, the herniated portion of a disk is removed.
• Laminectomy. The spinal canal is enlarged to relieve nerve pressure caused by spinal stenosis.
• Fusion. Spinal fusion (which permanently connects two or more bones in your spine) can relieve pain by adding stability to a spinal fracture. It can also be used to eliminate the painful motion between vertebrae caused by a degenerated or injured disk.
• Artificial disks. An alternative to spinal fusion and also not as common, this surgery involves implanting artificial disks to relieve painful movement between two vertebrae due to a degenerated or injured disk.

Before agreeing to surgery, always get a second opinion from a qualified back surgeon and from your chiropractor is possible. Each of them may have back surgery alternatives. Back and leg pain is a complex issue that could require a team of health professionals to diagnose and treat.

Need to know more about what is the recovery from back surgery? Call McKim Chiropractic and discuss back surgery alternatives with one of our licensed chiropractors. We offer the DRS Protocol™, a non-surgical spinal decompression therapy that can relieve back pain associated with spinal and disc problems. Our licensed and certified staff is committed to helping the residents of Nampa, ID achieve their optimum level of health!