When Do Patients with Lower Back Problems Need Surgery?
by Gregg J. Carb, D.C. & Al Ueda, D.C. Chiropractic Doctors of all kinds see a lot of lower back pain cases. Surveys weve all read in the past show that lower back pain is one of the most frequent reasons for a patient to initiate a visit to the chiropractor. A significant number of lower back pain cases treated in chiropractic offices involve radiation of pain into the leg(s), and a certain fraction of those cases will appropriately require surgery. For the benefit of patient management, and for that matter risk management, the indications for considering surgical consultation in lower back pain and lumbar radiculopathy cases are reviewed in this article. Additionally, Dr. Carb will share some personal experiences with lumbar spine surgery. From the Literature In a study1 of 513 patients evaluated at 3 months after surgery for lumbar discectomy, stepwise logistic regression showed six clinical variables as independently predictive of a good outcome: absence of back pain, absence of a
