Neck pain anytime is not welcome. Neck pain after
neck surgery is particularly unwelcome…by the patient and the
treating physician! Gentle manual treatment of post-surgical neck pain and any
adjacent-to-the-surgical-level-segment spinal pain conditions at
Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka helps many Sitka neck pain sufferers find
neck pain relief.
DDD
Degenerative disc disease (DDD) - the wear and tear
of a or multiple spinal discs – shows itself as low back pain
and neck and arm pain. 40% of people over age 40
have degenerative disc disease while 80% of those over 80 years of age
have it. 10% to 20% of people with lumbar
disc degeneration and up to 30% of those with cervical disc degeneration will not get relief from non-surgical treatments. (1) Degenerative disc disease is documented
as starting in the second decade of life. (2)
The artificial disc replacement has been around for some time. An early review of its use and efficacy stated
that about 5% of DDD patients were eligible for it. Further,
the review reported that lumbar artificial disc replacement was
79% superior to lumbar spine fusion with a major complication
rate of 0% to 13% per implanted device. The rate of major complications at 2
years post-surgery varied from 0% to 8.1% per implant. Adjacent
segment disease was reported to be 2% in one
11-year-follow-up study, but not definitive in the clinical
trial data. (1) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka sees post-surgical neck pain
patients experiencing such adjacent segment disease seek
our Sitka chiropractic care not uncommonly.
ADJACENT SEGMENT DISEASE AFTER CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY
Spine literature has recently addressed
the concern conveyed in the prior study about
adjacent segment disease, degenerative changes at spinal segments immediately
next to a spinal fusion or disc implant region. The cause for such
pain is explained as possibly resulting
from altered stresses on the adjacent levels after
such procedures. In an article written for an audience of primary
care practitioners who see post-surgical patients with spinal
pain, one such patient who presently had neck pain and cervical
arm pain radiculopathy with a history of experiencing anterior cervical disectomy and spinal fusion surgery 30 years ago
for DDD. This patient had 34 sessions of chiropractic care – a combination
of cervical manipulation, flexion distraction decompression, soft-tissue mobilization
and therapeutic ultrasound – reported
relief. (3) Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka uses flexion distraction decompression procedures
to gently address post-surgical Sitka neck pain.
POST-CERVICAL SPINE SURGERY NECK PAIN
Researchers wrote that cervical spine surgeries for
degenerative cervical spine conditions are rising quickly
and creating post-surgical pain syndromes: chronic
pain, adjacent segment disease, recurrent disc herniation, facet join pain,
and/or epidural scarring. Repeat surgeries may be proposed
though some patients are unable to or don’t
want to go through another surgery. Such patients may then turn to manual therapy for desired
relief. Due to the fact that the clinical practice guidelines are
written but not very distinctly for post-cervical
spine surgery management, researchers reviewed published papers
to determine a path of care.
Of 12 articles, 10 studies on conservative care recounted favorable clinical outcomes.
(4) That is hopeful! Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka shares this hope with our
Sitka neck pain patients who have undergone cervical
spine surgery for degenerative disease and other issues causing neck pain. Our
gentle spinal manipulation approach called Cox® Technic provides
relieving, doctor-monitored treatment of your cervical spine.
CONTACT Arctic Chiropractic, Sitka
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Chris Osterlitz on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he discusses
how he helped a patient find relief of his neck
pain after a cervical spine surgery using the Cox® Technic System
of Spinal Pain Management which may include nutritional advice to slow the degenerative disc disease.
Make your Sitka
chiropractic appointment soon. Unwelcomed neck pain due to degenerative disc disease and/or adjacent segment disease
after a cervical spine surgery may well find the hoped for relief
in your chiropractor’s hands.