More than 98 per cent of the people who sought the assistance of a chiropractor were able to experience an elimination or reduction of their back pain without surgery and were, therefore, able to get back to work after several weeks.
Compared to surgery, chiropractic care is inexpensive. Surgical costs combine with medications, imaging and rehabilitation costs average case approaches $100,000 with some upwards to $200,000. The average costs for treating the low back pain with a Chiropractor is less than $3,000, a small per cent of the costs of medical intervention.
An interesting study discovered that the rate of surgery depended not on the condition alone but greatly on what type of doctor was seen first by the injured worker or patient. If the patient or injured worker was first seen by a surgeon, then over 42% would result in surgery. However, if they were first seen by a chiropractor, only 1.5% would have surgery. The rate of having an expensive surgery was reduced by over 95%, just by the choice of going to a chiropractor first.
After surgery, you will need to take a lot of time to recuperate which could last for up to several months. Besides being inconvenienced, you may develop other complications such as nerve damage, infections, anaesthesia, blood clots or worse, stroke. In the case of nerve damage, you risk having sexual dysfunction, paralysis or loss of bowel of bladder control, not mentioning severe pain and weakness.
Your first choice and least invasive application should be chiropractic care, which serves as a perfect alternative to surgery.
Anaesthesia Risks
Most spine surgeries are performed under general anaesthesia. You will be given medication through an intravenous (IV) line to put you to sleep, so you won’t feel pain during the procedure.
Risks from anaesthesia are rare but serious. These risks include heart attack, stroke, brain damage, and death. These complications may be caused by drug reactions or problems stemming from other medical conditions.
That said, any operation has some degree of risk, including:
- Reaction to anaesthesia or other drugs
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Blood clots, for instance in your legs or lungs
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Herniated disk
- Nerve damage, which can lead to weakness, paralysis, pain, sexual dysfunction, or loss of bowel or bladder control
The odds that something could go wrong go up for people with certain health conditions. They also vary by type of surgery. Part of your surgeon’s job is to identify potential problems. So talk it over before you head to the OR.
Sexual Dysfunction
The spinal cord and spinal nerves carry the nerve signals that allow the rest of your body to function, feel sensation – and even have sex. Damage to the spinal cord and the nerves around the spinal cord can cause many problems. If a nerve is damaged that connects to the pelvic region, it could cause sexual dysfunction.
Spinal Cord Injury
Any time you operate on the spine, there is some risk of injuring the spinal cord. This can lead to serious injuries to the nerves or the covering of the spinal cord – the dura. The spinal cord is a column of nerves that connects your brain with the rest of your body, allowing you to control your movements. The nerve fibers in your spinal cord branch off to form pairs of nerve roots that travel through the small openings (foramina) between your vertebrae. The nerves in each area of the spinal cord connect to specific parts of your body. Damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis in certain areas and not others, depending on which spinal nerves are affected.
Chiropractic can be a complementary medical approach to mainstream medicine as well, and it’s been proven to be one of the safest approaches to naturally and holistically treating patients with a wide range of symptoms or conditions, including: back or neck pain, sciatica, scoliosis, frozen shoulder, acid reflux or digestive issues, headaches, high blood pressure, injuries and neuromusculoskeletal complaints that may require surgery.
