Non-Surgical Treatment for Spinal Stenosis Is Successful

Primarily, spinal stenosis affects patients over 50 years of age, and it really affects more and more people at 60, 70, and 80. It's been reported that 1 in 200 people over age 50 have spinal stenosis. (1) One report states that 100% of 33 asymptomatic persons -- persons reporting no pain -- over 55 years old have lumbar spinal stenosis. (2) Could you be one of the patients with spinal stenosis in Augusta?

Spinal Stenosis Care Options in Augusta: Surgical vs. Non-Surgical

Medical and chiropractic research supports the use of conservative, non-operative, non-surgical treatment for spinal stenosis when possible. Chiropractic is conservative care. chiropractic is non-surgical. Why conservative, chiropractic care for spinal stenosis? Read on.

chiropractic Spinal Stenosis Care

Medical researchers call for "aggressive, non-surgical care" for stenosis. (14) Offered at Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic, the Cox Technic system of protocols for spine pain relief has published guidelines for care and relief expectations. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic adheres to these guidelines to aggressively manage back pain non-surgically. Both of us - the doctor and the patient - play important roles in healing: appointments, treatment, exercise, nutrition, ergonomics, etc.

As a viable, non-surgical treatment option for spinal stenosis, Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic's Cox Technic chiropractic flexion-distraction and decompression is gentle, doctor-monitored, safe spinal manipulation offering these benefits:

 

 

There is hope for relief and control of your pain even when stenosis and disc degeneration narrow the spinal space. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic offers Cox Technic flexion distraction and decompression to help you avoid the extra emotional - frustration over not getting the help you need or enough relief to regain your quality of life - and financial costs associated with dealing with spinal stenosis in Augusta.

Cost of Spinal Stenosis

Spinal stenosis treatment is expensive whether you have spinal stenosis in Augusta or elsewhere. Options for managing spinal stenosis are non-surgical and surgical; however, comparing the outcomes and costs is enlightening.

In a 3-year study of Medicare patients treated surgically and non-surgically (9), it is reported that the

• surgery patients cost $49,624
• non-surgery patients cost $36,691

In another study (4), the adjusted mean hospital charges for two types of surgical procedures were

• $80,888 for complex fusion procedures
• $23,724 for decompression alone.

Researchers found that from 2002-2007 (4)

• the rate of complex fusion procedures increased 15 times - from 1.3 to 19.9 per 100,000 beneficiaries.
• life-threatening complications increased with increasing surgical invasiveness, from 2.3% among patients having decompression alone to 5.6% among those having complex fusions.

Surgery for leg pain (radiculopathy) with herniated lumbar disc and symptomatic spinal stenosis is associated with short-term benefits compared to non-surgical therapy, but benefits of the surgical care diminish with long-term follow-up (5)

Non-surgical options cost less.

Surgery or No Surgery for Augusta Spinal Stenosis? Try No Surgery First

Which is right for you? Consider these reports:

Lumbar spinal stenosis patients over 70 with radicular symptoms are good candidates for conservative treatment as long as complete myelographic block is not present. (6)

Atlas et al's 8 to 10 year follow up study (7) revealed nearly the same outcomes in surgically and non-surgically treated stenosis patients who reported that their predominant symptom of low back pain was improved: 53% of surgically treated and 50% of non-surgically.

• Both groups were satisfied with their current status:
  • 55% of surgically treated stenosis patients
  • 49% of non-surgically treated stenosis patients. 

Spinal manipulation is recommended by The American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians for primary care of low back pain. (10)

Washington state Worker's Compensation data from 1994 to 2001 compared lumbar fusion with cages and instrumentation to non-surgical care in 1950 subjects (11):

• Lumbar cage fusion rates increased from 3.6% in 1996 to 58% in 2001
• Result was increased complication risk without improving disability or reoperation rates.
  • 2 years after fusion
    • 64% disabled
    • 22% re-operation
    • other complications 12%
• Lumbar fusion devices compared with exercise and cognitive intervention are no better.
• Use of cages or instrumentation was associated with increased complication risk compared with bone-only fusions without improving disability or re-operation rates.
• Use of intervertebral fusion devices rose rapidly after their introduction in 1996.
  • This increased use was associated with an increased complication risk without improving disability or reoperation rates.

A study of Worker Compensation patients with chronic low back pain was conducted from January 1999 to December 2001. The randomly selected patients were followed through January 2006. The results were not favorable for surgery. (12)

• 725 lumbar fusion cases were compared to 725 controls who did not undergo surgery.
• BETTER NON-SURGICAL RETURN TO WORK STATISTICS
  • 2 years after fusion surgery:
    • Only 26% of fusion cases had returned to work
    • 67% of non-surgical controls had returned to work
• Re-operation Rate: 27%
• Surgical Complications: 36% of lumbar fusion subjects
• LOWER Non-Surgical Permanent Disability Rates
  • 11% for surgical cases
  • 2% for non-operative controls.
• LESS Non-Surgical Drug Use
  • among lumbar fusion surgical patients:
    • 41%  increased daily opioid drug use after surgery
    • 76% of cases continuing opioid drug use after surgery.
• FEWER Non-Surgical Patient Days Off Work
  • Total number of days off work was more prolonged for surgical cases:
    • 1140 days for surgical
    • 316 days for non-surgical

The Augusta chiropractic Option

Cox Technic drops intradiscal pressure, widens the spinal canal area and increases intervertebral disc height to reduce stenosis and relieve stenosis pain.

Contact Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic in Augusta for chiropractic Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression for relief of your spinal stenosis. Lombardy Chiropractic Clinic offers a thorough examination, consultation and treatment plan to relieve and control your spinal stenosis pain without surgery if possible.