Do You Really Need That Back Surgery?
Patients and their families presented with the prospect of back surgery should ask lots of questions, according to experts in the field. The approach to easing back pain depends upon the source, the severity, the persistence and the trajectory of the pain.
“If it’s back pain and there’s no leg pain or minimal leg pain, then a patient or a family member should know that surgery is the absolute last resort,” said Dr. Christopher Bono, an orthopedic surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and president of the North American Spine Society. “It’s most of the time not even a good option. It has a pretty mediocre-at-best success rate for the treatment of back pain.”
Bono and other surgeons recommend alternatives to surgery for patients who have nonspecific pain, from conditions such as arthritis. Physical therapy, core strengthening, weight loss and stretching to improve flexibility may each help ease the pain.
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