Still in Pain after Spine Surgery? 6 Treatments to Help You Start Feeling Better.

1 in 5 people* will have spine surgery that fails to provide long-term pain relief, regardless of the type of procedure. This number includes minimally invasive spine surgeries.

Back surgery that fails to relieve pain is known as Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBBS).

Whether you are going through normal post-operative pain or FBBS, a conservative, non-surgical approach is the safest way to manage your pain.

Let’s take a look at some treatment options.

1. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy involves meeting with a therapist 10 to 20 times. The therapist helps you focus on changing negative thoughts and feelings when you have back pain.

Positive thinking cannot stop the pain, but it can help to manage it.

2. Relaxation Techniques

Worrying about pain can make it worse. Chronic stress causes elevated stress hormones, muscle tension, and inflammation.

Relaxation techniques can lower the number of stress hormones in your body, relax muscles, calm the mind, and promote a sense of well-being.

Practicing relaxation techniques such as four-square breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, and hypnosis regularly can have long-term, positive results.

3. Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a therapy that uses a low voltage electrical current to relieve pain.

Doctors have proposed that the therapy relieves pain when nerves block the transmission of pain signals or raise the level of endorphins, the human body’s pain-killing chemical.

4. Pain Medication

Doctors often prescribe pain medication and recommend OTC pain medication to manage post-operative pain and ongoing pain.

As prescription opioid medication can be addictive, it’s necessary to have skilled pain doctors who can devise safe treatment strategies.

5. Steroid Injections

Many patients experience post-surgery pain from the swelling and inflammation at the surgery site. Steroid injections reduce this swelling and inflammation.

A single steroid injection procedure can provide pain relief for months.

6. Topical Therapies

Topical treatments can provide relief for post-operative surgical pain and ongoing back pain.

Applying dry or moist heat to the surgery site can decrease pain and allow temporary mobility.

Studies show moist heat application penetrates deeper and faster than dry heat, providing more temporary relief and functional movement.

Applying a cold compress or pack to the surgery site can relieve pain by reducing blood flow and inflammation during the initial, most intense healing phase.

 

Back pain relief in Houston, Dallas, and many other locations in Texas.

Perhaps they told you it was because of surgeon error or misdiagnosis.

Whatever the issue was, you are still in pain.

At Texas Pain Physicians, our board-certified pain management doctors are experts in well-established and innovative back pain treatment methods.

Contact us today at (972) 636-5727 to book your appointment.

 

*According to a 2020 study by The Journal of Orthopedic Research