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Innova Pain Clinic

Dr. Andrew White
Chiropractic Physician
435 N 1680 E #6
St George UT
(435) 652-4322


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Back Surgery Overused, According to Study

St George Chiropractor

Most of us know someone who has had back surgery to fix their pain.  Instead of seeking chiropractic care first, they went for the expensive and risky knife.  How many of those people found relief and were pain free a year later?  Not many.

Back surgery has a high fail rate

Roughly half of all back surgeries fail; the patient still has pain and are even worse off following the surgery. Would they have responded better had they chosen a chiropractic approach first?  Who knows but the studies show that chiropractic care is safe, effective, and far less risky than surgery.  A recent study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (Ann Rheum Dis 2010;69:1643-1648) suggests that surgery for back pain is over utilized.

Patients were tracked for 2 years following their surgeries.  There was no significant difference in pain levels or function between the people who had surgery and those who did not.  The major difference between the two groups dealt with the degree of post surgical scar-tissue causing a new pain syndrome.  The surgeries should be the last option.  But as this study suggests, they are being considered too quickly and are not providing the results hoped for and are even leading to more harm and more pain.

Other non-surgical options

When Dr. White talks to patients about their treatment options for lower back pain, he includes a discussion on  various protocols for pain management.   He attends medical continuing education sponsored by Dixie Regional Medical Center and hosted at the hospital.  Dr. White stays informed on the new methods and techniques which are available here in St George.  He has professional working relationships with medical pain specialists in the region.  If the patient would be better served by a team approach, then Dr. White assembles a team of specialists to work on the pain with Dr. White leading the chiropractic approach.

Dr. Andrew White | St George Chiropractor

Featured image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and sixninepixels

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