Try These Things Before Seeking Surgery For Your Back Pain
If you suffer from ongoing back pain, you may be thinking about having surgery. And in some cases, surgery can be your best choice for lasting relief. However, surgery can be expensive, is associated with a long recovery time, and does have some risks. As such, you should try some of these non-invasive approaches and treatments before you resort to surgery.
Chiropractic Care
Some patients visit the chiropractor once. Their back pain comes back a few days later, so they may think the chiropractic adjustment did not work. This suggests a misunderstanding of how chiropractic care works. Most people need regular adjustments for a few months, if not a year, before they experience long-lasting relief from back pain. Your spine will continue to slowly move back out of alignment, causing your back pain to return, and a chiropractor can put it back in line again. Over time, it will slowly stop sliding out of alignment, and you will then have less back pain even if you stop seeing the chiropractor so often.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is really great at alleviating pain and stress. And indeed, pain and stress often go hand-in-hand when it comes to back pain. The pain stresses you out, and your stress makes the pain worse. An acupuncture session can break this endless cycle. The needles do not hurt as they're inserted into your skin. Most patients feel much better immediately after treatment, and the relief will last longer and longer after each subsequent appointment.
Weight Loss
If you are overweight, losing weight may be the best way to effectively ease your back pain. This is especially true if you are carrying weight on your abdomen; the weight will be pulling forward on your spine and making matters worse. Start eating healthier and getting more exercise to slowly drop the pounds. As your weight goes down, your back pain may slowly fade away, which may make surgery unnecessary. Plus, losing weight may allow you to be more active overall, and getting more exercise can help keep your back looser and less prone to pain. Seek help from a dietitian or personal trainer if you're struggling to lose weight on your own.
If you try the three strategies above and find yourself still struggling with serious back pain, then it is time to contact a surgeon and schedule a consultation. Surgery can be a good solution to back pain, but it's something you only want to try after ruling out other possibilities.