MYTH: THE PAIN WILL RESOLVE ITSELF

One of the biggest “accepted” myths about back pain is that it goes away all by itself, without any treatment.

And most doctors believe the claim that 90% of all episodes of low back pain will resolve within one month. But a May 1998 study in the British Medical Journal that followed the progress of a widespread sample of back pain patients’ conditions 12 months after their initial medical consultation, found that only one out of four patients saw their pain resolved. Sadly, three out of four continued to suffer.

Patients’ actual level of back pain after 12 months:
No Pain and NO Disability-25%
Continuing Pain or Disability-25%
Pain AND Disability-50%

WHERE DO YOU FALL IN THIS RANGE?

If you’re like many patients we’ve seen over the years, you’ve probably tried several prescribed remedies to help ease your chronic pain.

Some may include bed rest, medication, chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy or injections. Like so many others, you may be frustrated and have come to the realization that you may just have to learn to live with the pain. (Even your family doctor may say those exact words to you.) After trying and failing with everything else, perhaps you’re even considering surgery as a last attempt to end your suffering.

BEFORE YOU DECIDE ON BACK SURGERY

Consider these facts about INVASIVE back surgery:

• • U.S. surgeons perform more than a half-million surgical procedures
    on the back every year
  • Back surgery is performed in the United States at a rate 40% higher
    than in eleven other developed countries and at five times the rate
    performed in England and Scotland
  • The majority of back surgeries are unsuccessful. (And some studies
    indicate the success rate at less than 60%.) Once you have back
    surgery, the chances of needing a second surgery are very high
  • Approximately 25,000 to 50,000 documented “failed back surgery
    syndrome” cases occur each year
  • A study published in the medical journal SPINE followed 109 patients
    for 12 years after back surgery. They found that satisfactory results
    were found in only 64% of the patients, while 28% complained of
    significant back or leg pain, and 7.3% had a repeat operation
  • Another, larger study, also published in SPINE, followed the long-term
    results of 575 back surgery patients. According to the study, 70% still
    complained of back pain. Of those; 83% experienced constant heavy
    pain, 45% residual sciatica, 47% received some form of disability, and
    17% required a repeat surgery