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Quotes about Back Surgery from the world's top natural health / natural living authors

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"A December 2003 article in the New York Times explained the controversy about back surgery. This excellent piece of investigative medical journalism points out that although the spinal fusion procedure is more complex and more expensive, and the recovery time is longer, there has never been proof of its superiority over laminectomy. Why the push to do the more complex procedure before it has been proven to be superior to the simpler procedure?" - John Abramson, Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine (P.S.) (Get the book.)

"Not only is the image a waste of time and money, but it often leads to unnecessary back surgery. Yet the National Committee for Quality Assurance found that doctors often were unaware of, or ignored the academy's recommendation, giving nearly a quarter of patients with low-back pain in managed care plans an unnecessary image. What about payers? Insurance is a competitive industry, and you would think that the market would create the right conditions for insurers to vie on the basis of providing the highest-quality care for the lowest price." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "One Chicago family physician joined a capitated plan and was handed four patients who subsequently received back surgery, costing him fifteen thousand dollars out of his own pocket after the end-of-the-year pot of money was used up. Managed care had other carrots and sticks to use to force doctors to comply with its cost-cutting measures. Companies offered bonuses, but only if doctors refrained from ordering what the plans considered to be too many tests or procedures." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Orthopedic surgeons have a number of procedures they can become familiar with—knee replacements, hip repair, back surgery. They sub-specialize in certain procedures that they become comfortable with, and then they hunt for opportunities to do those procedures." "They hunt for patients?" "They look for patients who fit the paradigm, the kind of case they specialize in," he says. "They get known for a particular procedure: this orthopedist is a knee guy; this one does backs. If a patient comes in who doesn't fit what they do, they refer them to another doctor." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"During back surgery, which normally causes urination problems for the patients after surgery, researchers suggested to the anesthetized patients that they would be able to relax their pelvic muscles after the surgery, and thus would need no catheter None of the patients who received the suggestion subsequently needed a catheter. DNA In 1952, the British Medical Journal reported on an extraordinary case' concerning Brocq's disease, a genetic disorder that causes the skin to resemble the scales of a reptile." - Jon Barron, Lessons from The Miracle Doctors: A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimum Health and Relief from Catastrophic Illness (Get the book.)

"With signs of rapidly progressive nerve damage (increasing weakness in a leg, or loss of bladder or bowel function), back surgery moves high on the list of options. It must also be considered when pain is unremitting or getting worse. Surgery always entails a degree of risk; there is always the chance of permanent damage and impaired mobility. Q According to U.S. government data, only 1 percent of those who suffer from back pain appear to benefit from surgery. back surgery is useful only for problems in four broad categories: 1. Disk displacement (a protruded or "slipped" disk). 2." - Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements (Get the book.)

"Back surgery is frequently performed because a patient shows a ruptured, or herniated, disk on an MRI or CT scan, but the disk may not necessarily be the source of the person's pain. Studies of CT scans have shown that 27 percent of people over the age of forty have a herniated disk but no back pain. In a study using MRIs, 36 percent of people over sixty had herniated disks, and 80 percent had disk degeneration, bulges and narrow bits. Yet none of them had significant back pain." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"Another patient was Robert, a thirty-eight-year-old white single man with a history of having undergone back surgery twice, thirteen years and eight years prior to his consultation with me. He had low back pain and was markedly restricted in his physical movements because of fear of inducing greater pain. The interim report from the psychotherapist stated: Robert continues to be highly motivated in treatment. His main focus in therapy is on his relationship with his father." - John E. Sarno, M.D., The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders (Get the book.) "Many months later I learned from a friend of his that he was now preparing for back surgery. Mr. Q_had multiple manifestations of TMS, but he could not accept a psychosomatic diagnosis. He was a mild-mannered man, always in complete control of his emotions, but someone who felt things very deeply. It is my view that the underlying rage that caused his TMS pains also played a role in bringing on his cardiovascular and neoplastic problems, and that the symptom-imperative was responsible for his multiple pathologies." - John E. Sarno, M.D., The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders (Get the book.)

"And you find yourself on the way to the operating room for back surgery that may or may not cure your pain. A look at some of the statistics for back surgery makes you wonder how rational these decisions for surgery are. To begin with, the United States has the highest rate of back surgery in the world, the South has the highest rate of any region in the country, and Boston has five times the rate of that in New Haven, Connecticut. Do Bostonians really suffer more from back pain than New Havenites?" - Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D., Intelligent Medicine: A Guide to Optimizing Health and Preventing Illness for the Baby-Boomer Generation (Get the book.)

"In addition, self-hypnosis helped me prepare emotionally and psychologically for back surgery, promoted positive expectations of a quick recovery and helped me brace for possible disappointment. Caveat: Before trying self-hypnosis, see a medical professional to make sure that your problem isn't being caused by something physical that can be fixed. EVALUATE YOUR PAIN Reconnaissance to evaluate the enemy is the first step in conquering it." - Bottom Line Health, Bottom Line's Health Breakthroughs 2007 (Get the book.) "By using this method, doctors hope to relieve pain and allow patients to avoid back surgery. Reality: Any exercise that conditions key postural muscles—abdominals, hip flexors and back muscle extensors—can help relieve pain. These machines can help but contribute nothing special. Best: Carefully prescribed, standardized exercises tailored for your individual back problem. Norman Marcus, MD, medical director, Norman Marcus Pain Institute, 30 E. 40 St., New York City 10016." - Bottom Line Health, Bottom Line's Health Breakthroughs 2007 (Get the book.)

"Prior to her back surgery, she underwent a total left knee replacement due to osteoarthritis. Her past history also included bilateral carpal tunnel surgery, a total hip replacement due to osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from heavy smoking, and depression. Radiographs in the office revealed moderate degenerative changes consistent with osteoarthritis. This patient has had multiple surgeries to "correct" orthopedic problems." - John E. Sarno, M.D., The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders (Get the book.)

"It was blood tests and hospitalizations, back surgery, chest X-rays, and knee replacements. In one part of the country, practically every woman with breast cancer was still getting a mastectomy long after clinical trials had shown that a breast-sparing lumpectomy with radiation was just as effective. In another, babies were being put in neonatal intensive care units when they didn't need it. They found that patients with back pain were 300 percent more likely to get surgery in Boise, Idaho, than in Manhattan." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"In some cases, back surgery may be recommended. Lifestyle changes that may be helpful Preliminary data indicate that smoking may contribute to low back pain.10 One survey of over 29,000 people reported a significant association between smoking and low back pain.11 Smaller people (children, women, those who weigh less) are most affected. A study involving people with herniated discs found that both current and ex-smokers are at much higher risk of developing disc disease than nonsmokers." - Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D., The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions (Get the book.)

"Hernia operations and hospitalizations for heart attacks and strokes seemed to occur at a constant rate across regions, while other procedures, like back surgery for pain, varied wildly. In one region, there were twenty hysterectomies performed for every 10,000 people; in another, there were sixty. Hemorrhoid removal went from a rate of two per 10,000 to ten per 10,000; there were threefold differences in the rates of appendectomies and mastectomies and a fourfold difference in the rate of surgery for varicose veins." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "We undergo back surgery for pain in the absence of evidence that the surgery works, and while some patients improve, others are left in far worse shape—making surgery a crapshoot. Patients contract lethal infections while in the hospital for elective procedures. They suffer strokes when they undergo a surgery that, ironically, is intended to prevent stroke. Unnecessary treatment, or "overtreatment" in medical parlance, increases the chaos level in hospitals. It leads to unnecessary suffering. And it is killing people." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Orthopedic surgeons have a number of procedures they can become familiar with—knee replacements, hip repair, back surgery. They sub-specialize in certain procedures that they become comfortable with, and then they hunt for opportunities to do those procedures." "They hunt for patients?" "They look for patients who fit the paradigm, the kind of case they specialize in," he says. "They get known for a particular procedure: this orthopedist is a knee guy; this one does backs. If a patient comes in who doesn't fit what they do, they refer them to another doctor." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"A LIFETIME OF PAIN IN THE BACK Strongly held emotions, if unresolved, can eventually become fixated in the back and prevent the healing of back pain or successful recovery from back surgery. Physicians at the San Francisco Spine Institute, in Daly City, California, interviewed 86 patients (53 men, 33 women, with an average age of 41) who had undergone lower-back surgery. They found that if these patients had experienced three or more serious childhood psychological traumas, they had an 85% chance of not benefiting from back surgery." - Larry Trivieri, Jr., Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition (Get the book.)

"Her x-ray changes had been present for some time, yet her knee had been pain free until she recovered from her back surgery. This is a very common pattern I see daily in my practice, which suggests that many of the common disorders that are thought of as structural in origin have a significant psychosomatic component. Again, I think of these disorders as a spectrum. For some patients, their pain is mostly psychosomatic; for others, there is less of a psychogenic component." - John E. Sarno, M.D., The Divided Mind: The Epidemic of Mindbody Disorders (Get the book.)

"Therapeutic exercise helps people recover from low back pain18 and low back surgery.19 Less clear are details about how this should be done for greatest benefit. In other words, the best type of exercise, frequency, duration, and timing of a program still need to be determined. One study reported therapeutic exercise significantly improved chronic low back pain compared to exercise performed at home without professional guidance." - Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D., The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions (Get the book.) "Those with a history of low back surgery had poor outcomes. People with LBP due to herniated discs who wish to try this method should first consult with a chiropractor or other physician skilled in spinal manipulation. A recent controlled study compared manipulation, acupuncture, and medication for chronic spinal pain. Only manipulation significantly improved pain and disability scores.103 There is inconclusive evidence that massage alone helps people with low back pain, though preliminary research indicates it has potential." - Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D., The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions (Get the book.)

"Back surgery is useful only for problems in four broad categories: 1. Disk displacement (a protruded or "slipped" disk). 2. Painful (and abnormal) motion of one vertebra in relation to another. 3. Narrowing of the spine around the spinal cord itself from overgrowth of bone (spinal stenosis). 4. Some cases in which misalignment of one vertebra with another (spondylolisthesis) leads to pain. þ In the past, removing a damaged disk and fusing a section of the spine was a major surgical procedure. Up to one year was required for recovery from this surgery." - Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements (Get the book.)

"Many experts suspect that this means that doctors in some areas do too much back surgery. The employers who pay the bills wonder why they should pay for services that seem to exceed the norm. But it may also be that too little surgery is done in some areas. This could result in unnecessary pain. What surgery rate is right? To answer that question, we'd like to know what rate gives the best overall health results. However, this information is hard to come by. Like most things that bring us to the doctor, back pain isn't fatal, and the treatments are generally low risk." - Richard A. Deyo M.D. M.P.H., Donald L. Patrick, Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises (Get the book.) "But when they are faced with a decision about treatment for breast cancer, whether or not to have back surgery, or which treatment is best for coronary heart disease, they're likely to be facing the decision for the first time, and the stakes are high. For Consumers Shared Decision Making I know of no safe depository of the ultimate power of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion." - Richard A. Deyo M.D. M.P.H., Donald L. Patrick, Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises (Get the book.) "Common medical situations of this sort include surgical procedures like most back surgery or the choice of treatments for prostate enlargement. Many drug treatments also fit the description: whether or not to use hormone replacement for menopausal symptoms or to take blood thinners for certain abnormal heart rhythms. The new decision aids differ substantially from the older generation of educational materials. They make the choices explicit, rather than implying a preferred course." - Richard A. Deyo M.D. M.P.H., Donald L. Patrick, Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises (Get the book.) "In a randomized trial, we found that doing an MRI instead of a plain x-ray led to more back surgery but didn't improve the overall results of treatment.23 Because we see more things on these scans, certain medical problems seem to be becoming more common year after year. This is not because abnormalities are getting more common; it's only that we're more likely to discover them. But finding things makes doctors and patients more enthusiastic about doing the tests and seems to justify them." - Richard A. Deyo M.D. M.P.H., Donald L. Patrick, Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises (Get the book.)

"In addition, lasers may someday replace some of the surgical instruments now used for back surgery, he says. Lasers can focus their beams with incredible precision and may help surgeons reach, through tiny incisions, hard-to-reach parts of the spine. Eventually, Dr. Boachie-Adjei says, people may have laser back surgery and return home the same day. As you might expect, these new techniques aren't without controversy or limitations. Some surgeons believe the small incisions simply are too small to ensure thorough operations." - Matthew Hoffman and William Legro, Disease Free: How to Prevent, Treat and Cure More Than 150 Illnesses and Conditions (Get the book.)

"Once common, back surgery now is reserved mostly for cases involving paralysis and other marked neurological impairments. Research has shown that in the absence of paralysis, sciatic pain eventually improves on its own; results with surgery are no better. At best, surgery for most soft tissue problems is useless. Low back pain occasionally can signal a more serious problem such as infection or cancer." - Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman, Everybody's guide to homeopathic medicines (Get the book.)

"We Americans undergo a lot less back surgery than we used to, but there are still about 20 times more back operations per capita in the United States than in Canada and Europe. So here's my advice: If a doctor says you need back surgery, get several other opinions before going under the knife. I should have, but now that's water over the dam. In the meantime, what can you do about the pain? Immediately after a back injury or a flare-up of back pain, doctors recommend pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs." - James A. Duke, Ph.D., The Green Pharmacy: New Discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs (Get the book.)

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