Herniated discs are common, particularly if you’re athletic or aging. Or both. Most of the time, a slipped disc heals on its own with physical therapy and medications. If it doesn’t, you may need surgery to fix the herniation and relieve the pain.
The New York Times recently published an article about “What I Wish I’d Known About My Knees”
The natural question to ask is… are we are being too aggressive with knee pain surgery? Or are we are being too conservative with knee pain issues? The concepts presented in the article is nothing new that we all haven’t heard before. However, maybe Orthopaedic Surgeons are being too aggressive with surgery?
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I was recently told by a new patient to my practice that “all Orthopaedic Surgeons want to do is operate and cut, especially for knee pain.” I tried to explain to my patient that not all of us want to operate and usually reserve that for when all other measures have failed. It is the fundamental basis for surgical practice across the spectrum is to exhaust all conservative measures first before moving on to more aggressive interventions. There are some out there that do not share this same viewpoint into their surgical practices.
If you do happen to see someone at a surgical practice that wants to operate immediately or even “I have an opening this afternoon”, it is good advice to slow down and carefully consider why they want to take you to surgery so fast.
Orthopaedic surgery has evolved so much in the past decade, that we are constantly weighing the risks and benefits of each of surgery. The asks the questions as to whether we are causing more harm than actually doing good.
The bullet pointed suggestions towards the end of this article are good points for any patient that suffers from knee pain related issues. It is always recommended to try simple things first.
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Herniated discs are common, particularly if you’re athletic or aging. Or both. Most of the time, a slipped disc heals on its own with physical therapy and medications. If it doesn’t, you may need surgery to fix the herniation and relieve the pain.
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Your joints let you move freely and painlessly throughout your day. But joints, like all body parts, are subject to degradation and disease. To keep your joints healthy both now and in the future, adopt these habits.
Your back hurts so much that it’s basically useless. You can’t twist. You can’t bend. You can’t sit. If more conservative measures fail, don’t jump to spinal fusion. Artificial disc replacement keeps you pain-free and preserves your mobility, too.