There are millions of people worldwide who experience back pain; of these, only a few go in for surgery to seek relief. Though spine surgery nowadays is less invasive than it was 10-15 years back, people still choose this only as a last resort.
Spine Surgery And The Other Different Modes Of Treatment
When a person is in acute pain, or has lost control of bladder, bowel or motor movements, or is suffering from nerve problems, surgery is the only option. For symptoms other than these, most patients as well as doctors would prefer trying out other treatments first. These treatments include medication, rest, exercise, physical therapy and nerve-block injections. If these treatments do not succeed in easing the pain, then the risks and benefits of the spine surgery may be considered.
A tool to help you make a sound decision is out there today. This interactive tool is not for diagnosing a back problem; rather it provides help in deciding whether surgery is the right solution to get rid of your back pain.
As with any other surgery, spine surgery has its own risks. Hence, before going for it, the patient might want to know if there is a good chance that surgery will prove successful in treating the back problem. The tool is used to measure your resilience or your ability to bounce back. The tool asks you some questions in simple language, not in cryptic medical terms. These questions are related to the normal symptoms of back pain. There are multiple options available to choose from. Depending upon your answers, the tool would calculate your score. One such question with its choices is given below:
Q. Which Symptoms Do You Have?
• Pain going down the back of the leg to below the knee
• Pain and leg weakness
• Weakness in either leg
• No weakness, pain in lower leg
There are many other such questions related to back pain problems. At the end of the interaction, a report would be displayed advising you for or against the surgery for your back pain problem. The tool also makes it clear that surgery is only a good choice if all of the following are true:
• Your symptoms usually keep you away from your normal activities.
• Your symptoms are not getting better.
• You have had the symptoms for four weeks or more.
All in all, this interactive tool would help you find out whether surgery is the best option to treat your back problem or not. You can show the results of this tool to your doctor to get a better idea about your treatment options.