A recent study on lower back surgery demonstrated discouraging results regarding returning to gainful employment. The study showed that of those patients who chose spine surgery over non-surgical intervention for damaged spinal discs, only 26% of the spine surgery patients returned to work, compared to 67% of the non-surgical group. The article was posted at www.msnbc.com and can be referenced by clicking here. The article goes on to demonstrate the increase in the use of strong pain medications after spine surgery, to go along with the increased disability reate. Although spine surgery can be a life saver for some, statistical studies continue to prove that only 1-2 out of 10 spine surgery patients actually are much better off after the surgery than before. This is mostly due to the complexity of the spine/ disc / joint / musculoligamentous / neurological network of tissues, alteration of biomechanical functioning of the spinal units, and the collateral damage that occurs to important neuromusculoskeletal components during and after these highly invasive surgeries.
Most patients who understand the invasiveness of surgical intervention realize that spine surgeries typically either remove important functional supportive tissue, or alter the anatomy and physiology altogether by fusing vertebral segments that were designed to be in motion. Surgical intervention as a treatment for disc herniation often results in removal of viable tissues, resulting in weakening of the supportive integrity of the spine and discs, setting the entire biomechanical system on a course for failure.
If you think of a spinal disc like a car tire, the thick outer rubber that contacts the road can wear down, develop cracks and tears which either result in a slow leak or sudden blow out of the tire. Similarly, the inner shock absorbing gel of our spinal discs can either gradually lead our or damaged disc, or the disc can "blow out" or herniate all at once. Rather than repairing the lead or the blow out (herniation) must surgical techniques either remove portions of the disc (or tire as in our analogy) making the disc (or tire) less durable and more likely to fail further. An auto mechanic wouldn't advise "tire surgery" in most cases, but would usually recommend new tires. The problem with this analogy is that we can't just order a "new set of discs" for our spines . . . or can we?
With advances in non-surgical technologies and regenerative medicine techniques, spinal disc regeneration which was once considered impossible, is now being recognized as a viable solution in many cases. Stem cell therapies, nutraceuticals, and laser medicine are just a few of the techniques being studied and utilized. However, at the South Coast Spine Center of San Diego, we've have utilized and developed procedures and techniques that hold promise as the safest, least invasive and most successful for actually increasing the spinal disc height utilizing regenerative medicine principles. Our procedures have been proven in recent studies to actually increase spinal disc height measured before and after treatment. Click here to view this recent study.
For more information on our regenerative medicine based procedures and to find out if you or a loved one may qualify for our care, simply call; 619-472-2225 and ask for our complementary diagnostic testing visit. You will be asked some questions, and if you qualify, you'll be scheduled to meet with one of our spine specialists free of charge when you mention this blog.
Yours in excellent health . . . and regenerating spinal discs,
Dr. Bruce Bell, D.C., Q.M.E., Qualified Medical Evaluator, American Academy of Spine Physicians
Director of the South Coast Spine Center of San Diego
619-472-22225
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