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Low back pain is a prevalent condition, with an estimated 9.4% of people worldwide suffering from it, as reported in 2016 in the Journal of Pain Research. Some people who seek surgery for pain relief may end up with chronic back pain after surgery, called failed back surgery syndrome, leaving them in the same condition or with new pain.
If spinal surgery complications have left you with ongoing pain, you don’t have to suffer forever. Grigory Goldberg, MD, a spine surgeon in New Jersey, can evaluate your condition and help you find ongoing pain relief to suit your needs. Continue reading to learn about the condition and what options you have to treat it.
Failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS), or post-laminectomy syndrome, occurs when you have persistent pain post-surgery after receiving surgery to relieve back pain. A study by Cureus compiled several studies and determined that almost 15% of people who had FBSS experienced surgical back pain recurrence.
Just because you have back surgery does not mean you’ll end up with complications. According to the Asian Spine Journal, over 50% of people find relief after the first surgery, with some finding relief after the second, third, or fourth surgeries.
Failed back surgery syndrome typically follows complications during the operation. Common problems include:
There are many options for failed back surgery syndrome. Based on your situation, your surgeon may recommend more than one method at a time, or several different methods until you find a solution that works for you. Let your doctor know which methods you’re comfortable with so they can work with you to find an ideal solution.
There are several medication options you can use to find relief for your pain, including over-the-counter and prescriptions. Your doctor may prescribe:
Injections are a great alternative to medication since they provide treatment directly to the source. If medications don’t work for you, your doctor may treat you with one of the following:
If your failed back surgery syndrome pain involves muscles, your surgeon may send you to a physical therapist or provide you with exercises to do at home. Many people find relief from muscle pain when they start physical therapy treatment since stretching and strengthening muscles makes them stronger. Strong muscles experience less pain in most cases.
Depending on your situation, you may need to continue physical therapy exercises indefinitely to continue feeling relief. Physical therapy and over-the-counter NSAIDs may be enough to help your situation.
Most people will feel inclined to avoid the surgery that caused them pain, but some people do find relief after they have a second surgery, or even a third or fourth. Your surgeon will determine if another surgery will be good for you based on your condition, health, and the probability of a positive outcome.
A second surgical option is spinal cord stimulation, or SCS. It’s a small procedure that attaches a stimulator to your spine. It will emit electrical impulses that will mask your pain.
This method doesn’t eliminate pain, but it does allow you to live with it since it covers it up, making your brain think you aren’t in pain. It’s good for anyone dealing with chronic pain caused by failed back surgery syndrome. Many surgeons don’t utilize SCS, but the Pain Physician Journal reported that over the course of 12 years, patients who underwent the procedure paid less money than those who underwent surgery, making it worth a try from a financial aspect.
If you’re in New York and want to find minimally invasive techniques for spine surgery or relief from failed back surgery syndrome, call Grigory Goldberg, MD, today. With over six convenient locations, help is only a phone call or email away.
Our team will help you find a treatment plan that will suit your needs so you can stop dealing with chronic pain each day. We accept most forms of insurance, including personal injury protection (PIP), no-fault, and workers’ compensation. We may have same-day appointments available; call to learn more.
Failed back surgery syndrome cannot be cured, but a mix of medication, surgical treatments, and non-surgical treatments can greatly reduce muscle pain and nerve damage post-surgery.
The symptoms of failed back surgery syndrome include new or persistent pain, reduced mobility, spasms, numbness, or mental health complications like depression and anxiety.
Most back surgeries do not fail, but the ones that do are often caused by misdiagnosis or using the wrong procedure.
