Back Surgery Was Supposed To Be The Answer...

One of the joys of my career is that I get to help thousands regain full function and return to the exercise routines and lifestyles they desire. Unfortunately, I’ve also gotten to see how some have either not been provided with proper advice regarding injury management or convinced that surgery was the only option to alleviate their symptoms. 

The other day, I followed up with a patient who had returned from a trip overseas for a month. Hold on. Let’s backtrack a bit. Prior to his trip, I had been treating him after a surgery called a ‘discectomy’ involving his L4/5 (lumbar spine) disc. He told me that he had originally complained of right-sided leg pain that traveled down to his heel and that, in March, he decided to have surgery. 

“What tends to bother you most?”, I asked. Sitting, standing, the first few steps in the morning. Nothing I hadn’t heard before, but according to him, the only improvements thus far; mind you it’s September, has been that his leg pain does not travel below the knee and that his lower back is now at a “constant ache”. 

He has been cleared to return to the gym, but told “no deadlifts, heavy squats or running ever again”. The doctor also explained to him that he should be prepared to have 3 to 4 injections per year for the rest of his life. So my patient asked, “would you consider this a positive outcome of surgery?” to which the doctor replied, “everything I did on my part worked, so yes”. 

I can’t help but feel for my patient as he is only a few years older than I am and now has to move forward with the hope that adopting a well-rounded strengthening program will reduce the possibility of having a “positive response to surgery” with quarterly injections.

In these situations, I always ask myself, “Could I have kept this person from being in this situation had I met them a year earlier?”

Speak to a physical therapist before considering any surgery. It may end up happening, but give yourself a chance to avoid it.