Is Chiropractic Safe After Neck or Back Surgery?
Clear Lake Chiropractor Comments: Periodically I will be talking to the spouse or parent of a patient and they will state “I wish that I could get chiropractic care, but I had neck or back surgery in the past”. Having surgery in the past does not prevent you from receiving chiropractic care in the future.
The most important thing to determine is what surgery was actually performed. Most patients that I talk to do not know exactly what surgery was performed or even what specific level of their spine was operated on.
There is a big difference between a patient that had a single level foraminotomy or discectomy vs a multi-level fusion with hardware. The foraminotomy and discectomy are minimally invasive surgeries that typically only require about 4-6 weeks for the surgical wound to heal before a patient can resume or begin chiropractic care. A spinal fusion will typically require about 6-9 months for the fusion to heal. The area that was fused cannot be adjusted, but the areas above and below the fusion can become problematic and require chiropractic care.
After a person has had spinal surgery, chiropractic care is actually very beneficial. After you have been operated on, you will begin to develop scar tissue. Chiropractors are very good at minimizing the amount of scar tissue development and keeping the spinal joints moving as much as possible. This will help to slow the arthritic changes that commonly occur after neck and back surgery.
In summary, don’t assume that you cannot enjoy the benefit of chiropractic care after surgery. Talk to your doctor of chiropractic and get the facts first. Then you can experience the pleasure of health.
Dr. Ward Beecher practices at Beecher Chiropractic Clinic at 1001 Pineloch, Ste 700 Houston, TX 77062. You can schedule an appointment at www.BeecherChiropractic.com or by calling (281) 286-1300. If you have any questions regarding this blog, please comment below!
