Opioid use for pain has
been a familiar treatment. Its use is a little too much so as medicine today is even attempting to scale back on its
prescription. For back surgery patients, it’s been quite common,
both before and/or after back surgery. Though today the use of opioids is being
less encouraged, many back pain sufferers still receive opioid prescriptions from their healthcare providers. Back And Neck Care Center
would enjoy being the first healthcare provider Severna Park
back pain and neck pain patients visit and truly welcome
the opportunity to care for the post-surgical continued pain
patients - with or without opioid prescriptions - who come to us with the same
or returned pain in the same spinal area where their surgery was. We’re have the skills to
help.
BACK SURGERY OUTCOME PREDICTORS: # of Rx Prescribers and #
of Rx Prescriptions
Very few hurry into back surgery. Back pain sufferers
often seek care from various healthcare
providers before surgery is contemplated and/or scheduled. 66.9%
of patients in a retrospective study of patients who experienced
single-level fusion surgeries retained one or less opioid prescription
prescribers before surgery while 33.1% retained more than
one opioid prescribers. The more pre-surgical opioid prescribers in a back surgery
patient’s case was a predictor of increased improvement of
post-surgical back pain. The more pre-surgical opioid prescriptions a patient used
was a predictor for poorer surgical outcomes including lower
improvement in back VAS pain scores, leg VAS pain scores, Oswestry Disability
Index scores, and for more post-surgical opioid prescriptions, prescribers, and
morphine milligram equivalents. An interesting and
seemingly side point of the study was that if a nonoperative
spine provider was involved in the case, a greater improvement in leg pain VAS scores was noted. (1)
Chiropractic is a profession of nonoperative spine providers! We chiropractors
are prepared and well-trained to help control
back pain before and after surgery and give patients an opportunity
to reduce their opioid use for pain management.
CHIROPRACTIC POST-SURGICAL CARE AND OPIOID USE
For patients who went through back surgery
and find that they have the same pain in the back area that the surgery was supposed to relieve, the return of pain
can be vexing. Some return to the medical
model and get new pain medication prescriptions or extended
prescriptions for the post-surgery meds. Others turn to chiropractic
care. A recent study of such patients who sought chiropractic
care with chiropractors who are certified in Cox® Technic spinal manipulation (manual
spinal decompression manipulation) stated that of the 59 patients
in the study, 11 came into the study with
opioid medications. Eight of them self-reported that they reduced
or quit their use. Three said they continued
their use. (2) This is hopeful for many post-surgical continued
pain patients that pain relief enough to not have to rely
on medications may be possible]. Back And Neck Care Center is Severna Park’s post-surgical
back pain provider to visit for Cox® Technic treatment.
CONTACT Back And Neck Care Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Marc Baker on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes his
use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in delivering relief
for a military veteran with back pain after back surgery.
Schedule your Severna Park chiropractic
appointment today. If you’ve undergone
back surgery, currently using pain meds, opioids,
or not, we are looking forward to working with you.