Is back surgery avoidable? Are there other treatment options?
I had an injury that left a ruptured disc in the thoracic region T5-7. It has been a year since my injury. Due to the weakness in that area I am now having effected areas in the cervical region and lumbar region of my spine. I’ve been continuing with physical therapy, muscle stem(TENS unit at home) every night, inversion table every morning and taking all the nerve medications and anti inflammatory medications the Doctor prescribed. I’ve been through four rounds of epidural steroid injections as well.
I am now to the point that it physically hurts more than anything i’ve ever experienced to stand up for eight hours at work. I am in a LOT of pain and the medications the Doctor has prescribed for the pain have not helped.
He has suggested that surgery might be an option we should look into at this point.
My questions is this: Assuming I am eligible for disability; would it be smarter to take time off work and explore more intense treatment options like spinal decompression, spine muscle strengthening, and acupuncture or should I jump right into surgery?
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At times it isn’t but if you feel that you should try other methods then maybe its worth trying,i injured my spine when younger i was in pain for just over two years, then was offered spinal fusion surgery,by that point i was sick of the pain and desperate so agreed to it,it went well really and now i have a harrington rod holding me together,
but surgery needs to be thought out before deciding,if offered a fusion remember it leaves your back stiff i still get pain but nothing like it was before,this is what most surgeons suggest as it holds the spine in place so reduces pains,i am glad to have had it done i just couldn’t go on the way i was,i had a dislocated back and damaged vertebra’s unsure of level but its near between the shoulder blades,it has as a result caused my spine to curve and twist,
swimming helps to build back muscles too,so that may be an option but not sure of how much it would help you as your pain sounds quite bad,a year is a long time to put up with such pains and i am sure you have noticed it get worse in that space of time,as injuries to the spine often do, as you get wear and tear on top of injury and it can lead to problems later in life, arthritis being one of them,
so as should you take time off exploring other options it depends,how much pain will you get by trying other things as sometimes other methods can agravate an injury so its a tough choice,i have never regretted my surgery it was the right choice for me as its less painfull now,but i did experience complications two days after it,but recovered well,
not sure if i have been of any help to you,hope you feel better soon.
Acupressure, acupuncture, tissue salt remedies and magneto therapy can address Ur entire problem.
In general if the surgeon is good he should always try everything first before going to surgery (which he is) The physical therapy is doing spine muscle strengthening. Acupuncture if it works thats great, if it doesnt its worthless. spinal decompression is something done surgically.
You have pretty much named all of the less invasive options that I can think of.. Since you are at maximum for steroid injections with no help I think surgery would be your best option.