Patients who are thinking about spinal injections or surgery, or have had spinal surgery (fusion, disc procedure, etc.) should see a Chiropractor trained in proper exercise therapy and who uses laser therapy and other new technology such as acoustic wave therapy to improve spinal strength and stability. In addition, scar tissue and muscle atrophy needs to evaluated and treated. This can help prevent costly and risk injections and surgery.
Why is failed back surgery syndrome so common?
Researchers at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University in Japan:
Up to 25% of patients report unimproved or worse pain and up to 40% are not happy with the outcome of lumbar fusion.
The possible reasons for poor results include instrumentation failure, inadequate surgical technique, and poor patient selection.
In patients who had continued pain after back surgery, muscle biopsies revealed: Atrophy of paraspinal muscles
Loss of muscular support leading to disability and increased biomechanical strain and possibly failed back syndrome. (1)
In another study researchers found that the muscles adjacent to the fusion (the paraspinal muscles of the lumbar spine) play an important role in recovery. The muscles become weak and unstable after a spinal fusion. 2 If those muscles remain damaged or weakened, the spine is unstable and pain persists. (2)
I can’t say enough about this…Doctors at Oslo University Hospital examined patients who had continued pain 7 to 11 years after spinal fusion. They found reduced muscle
strength and density of tissue one year after lumbar fusion: 27% reduction in muscle density. (3)
Again, patients need a skilled practitioner like myself to help them properly build strength and stability…but I recommend doing this before injections or surgery if at all possible.
(1) Ohtori S, Orita S, Yamauchi K, et al. Classification of Chronic Back Muscle Degeneration after Spinal Surgery and Its Relationship with Low Back Pain. Asian Spine Journal. 2016;10(3):516-521.
(2) Malakoutian M, Street J, Wilke HJ, Stavness I, Dvorak M, Fels S, Oxland T. Role of muscle damage on loading at the level adjacent to a lumbar spine fusion: a biomechanical analysis. Eur Spine J. 2016 Sep;25(9):2929-37.
(3) Froholdt A, Holm I, Keller A, Gunderson RB, Reikeraas O, Brox JI. No difference in long-term trunk muscle strength, cross-sectional area, and density in patients with chronic low back pain 7 to 11 years after lumbar fusion versus cognitive intervention and exercises. Spine J. 2011 Aug;11(8):718-25.