About Back Surgery
Posted in Uncategorized on 04/07/2010 12:14 am by adminConsidering treatment options for back pain…
Bob comes to me because his wife insists on it; she is the one who found me, called me, and set up the appointment on his behalf. He owns a company and business is very slow, on top of China taking allot of his business since they can do the work at a fraction of what he needs to charge. If anyone has a fear of losing, Bob does. He employs 30 plus individuals who depend on him for their livelihood and he is fully aware of it. But he keeps thinking that the back pain will just go away as it did when he was younger and it keeps being there no matter how positive his thoughts are. He is literally stuck.
And the way that he has always managed his stress is mountain biking, but he hasn’t been able to do it for a month or more. So now he is in a double bind. It will likely only get worse because stress and fear is key factor in Bob’s condition and the body responds to stress and fear by shortening.
Everyone experiences back pain…
Most everyone will have back pain at some point in their life. But way less than one in ten people will ever get to the surgeons table for spinal surgery. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported today that there are between 2002 and 2007, 35% more complex back surgeries were done although they may not have helped any more that low invasive surgeries to clean out metabolic debris (4/7/10) . These surgeries are more complicated than the non-invasive surgeries, take hours longer to accomplish, and in some cases have lead to further complications, especially in older person situations. Why do these surgeons do them; are they not reading the research, or is it business as usual?
From the Rolfers metabolic point of view of our organism, the lumber spine (lower back vertebrae) is directly behind the intestines. With the case of someone with a poor diet, full of rich foods and inexpensive oils, sugars, and additives, over the course of a lifetime, the tissue in this area of the body can go degenerative changes, thus causing back problems caused by fibrosis. And most us do not do the kind of exercise that will maintain the health of the joints in the body, and of course, joints have ALL to do with mobility. In other words, all movement happens through the joint or spaces between bones.
Fear of losing…
Psychologically, this area also has to do with issues of loss. I see lots of middle aged men who hare having sudden back problems and they say it suddenly just came on. But if I gently probe a bit, I discover that they either have a fear of losing their job, or position, a wife, their kids, financial security, or their your or even their life. In ancient times when you wanted to make a person your slave, you whipped him/her in the lower back over time, and eventually, they felt like a ‘loser’. They had no motivation to escape but just do what they were told- they had given in psychologically.
So Rolfers hear from many folks of all ages, but especially over the age of 35, who hare needing help with back problems and in most cases, we can help elongate and reorganize the segments of their body via connective tissue so that they are no longer ‘carrying’ their body around, but that the segments (head, shoulders, thorax, pelvis, legs) are more appropriately spaced and balanced, one over the other. It is rare, though, that I will take someone who wants me to fix their back, but who understands that in balancing the entire system, their back with get fixed.
Standing straighter and with less pain…
Bob is amazed even after the first session that he is standing straighter and with less pain, although I did not directly work in his lower back. He comes for a full series of 10 sessions and is feeling 20 years younger he tells me before we part at session number ten. I make sure that I have taught him a few exercises that will keep his small back muscles conditioned and elastic. And, with his wife’s support, he is changing his diet to less fast food and more close to nature, unprocessed foods that will not gum up his body again.
PS: When to Consider Surgery
In most cases, your physician will not consider operating unless conservative treatment options have failed, or have rendered themselves limited in effect. Usually, spinal surgery is reserved for situations in which you have a spinal nerve that is compressed, or a fracture in the spine that is extremely serious. If the discs are bulging, they will not do spinal fusion with is a serious surgery and is a last effort when all else fails in my 26 years experience.
