Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield underwent back surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital this week to repair a herniated disc and remove a loose fragment. Many are encouraged to hear early word the back surgery was deemed successful with 4-6 weeks of rehab to begin immediately.
Starting with lower back pain, the pitcher developed weakness in his left leg which led to a season ending limp. All the classic complaints of sciatica, characterized by pain running down the back of the leg, weakness in one or both legs, and even lower back pain.
Interestingly, Tim’s progression from pain and weakness to cortisone shots to back surgery follows a pattern familiar to many back pain sufferers. The good news for those with lower back pain or sciatica — even those with a diagnosed herniated disc — is back surgery is rarely necessary to eliminate back pain. In fact, it should be considered a last resort.
Beating sciatica pain and weakness starts with understanding that sciatica is actually a symptom of a different condition. The four most common conditions leading to sciatica are:
Piriformis syndrome — the most common cause of sciatic pain, where the piriformis muscle places pressure on the sciatic nerve
Herniated disc — a bulging or herniated disc may irritate the sciatic nerve
Spinal stenosis — a narrowing of the spinal canal itself pinches the sciatic nerve
Isthmic spondylolisthesis — a slipped vertebrae may irritate the sciatic nerve during movement as it rubs abnormally against the adjacent vertebrae
Outside of cases of trauma, sciatica almost never develops overnight. While the pain may appear suddenly, the underlying condition usually takes months or years to develop.
Fortunately, most cases of back pain and sciatica pain can be relieved through targeted stretching and strengthening exercises. This non-invasive approach is almost always preferable to back surgery and cortisone shots which don’t treat the actual cause of the condition. Particularly since back surgery is the only category of surgery with a clinical name for failure: failed back surgery!
Upper back surgery made the news earlier this year when U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln underwent a procedure to remove part of a herniated disc which was pinching a nerve in her back. What is particularly interesting about this surgery, beside the fact it was on a sitting U.S. Senator, is how uncommon the need for upper back surgery actually is.
Surgery for back pain is only performed in about 5% of all cases. And only 1% of all disc herniations occur in the thoracic, or upper back, due to its stability. This is good news for those with upper back pain: odds are high upper back surgery won’t be in your future.
While upper back surgery is still rare, upper back pain itself is becoming more common. Accidents, sports injuries, and other trauma can cause muscle sprains and worse. But an increasingly common cause of upper back pain is related to postural and strength issues, particularly for those who spend much of the day working on computers.
There are a number of natural health avenues one may consider for when dealing with upper back pain issues, including:
Muscle Balance Therapy uses targeted exercise and stretching to strengthen deconditioned muscles and stretch overly tight ones to relieve muscle pain and pressure on the spine.
Massage Therapy by a trained massage therapist can provide relief from upper back and increase joint mobility.
Trigger Point Therapy is used to relieve myofascial pain from irritated muscles, particularly common in the broad upper back and shoulder muscles.
The Alexander Technique, taught in private or group sessions, provides instruction on how to change movement habits to remove muscle restrictions and create more ease of movement. The Alexander Technique is particularly helpful for postural issues such as forward head posture and hunched shoulders.
Remember, except in cases of severe trauma your upper back pain did not happen overnight. It can take time to overcome the underlying causes of pain. But actively working towards better health naturally is almost always a better approach than what should be your last resort: upper back surgery.
Defies MRI And Finds Relief After Suffering for over 30-Years …
Carole endured back-pain for 30-years. Name the condition — herniated discs, sciatica, slipped vertebra, spinal stenosis and an “S-curved” spine — she had it all.
She endured constant pain throughout her hip, leg, butt and lower back. Over the years she’d been put in braces and casts that only made things worse. Doctors, surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists and all kinds of experts failed her.
But after THREE DECADES of pain, she’s virtually pain-free, many days she’s totally pain-free. And she did it without surgery … without costly visits to specialists … without drugs … and did it from the comfort of her own home.
She reports: “My abilities defy my MRI films!”
How did it she do it?
She ordered Lose The Back Pain. And if you’re suffering from back-related pain, if you’ve been told there’s no hope for you, I urge you to find out more about why thousands of back-pain patients continue to rave about Lose The Back Pain. Click here now to see how Lose The Back Pain can help you too …
Back Pain Expert Has Some Healing Advice for Regis
Who wants to be pain-free? Well, Regis for one. Free of back pain. Is that your final answer?
Yes, Regis Philbin, broadcast TV icon and co-host of the morning talk show “Live with Regis and Kelly,” has complained about recurring back pain at his show from time to time.
A few months ago on the show, Philbin, who is in his mid-70s, talked with Kelly Ripa about his back pain, which his doctor attributed to degenerative discs.
“He gave me a shot, and – I swear to God – the next day I felt good,” Philbin told Ripa on the show. “I had these shots – corizone, maybe a little steroids.”
Philbin was teased about being ” ‘roided up,” by the show’s producer Michael Gelman. “For a few days, I was hopped up, according to Gelman,” said Philbin, who admitted, “I am tired of feeling hurt.”
“I feel Regis Philbin’s pain, but the long-term solution to his back pain is not through the use of drugs, and let me tell you why,” says back pain specialist Jesse Cannone, co-founder of The Healthy Back Institute. “His degenerative disc disease is not actually a disease at all. It’s a term that describes the natural changes the spinal discs undergo as a person ages. As a disc degenerates, it may put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves, which often leads to pain and may affect nerve function.” Read more about how Regis can get Lasting Back Pain Relief…
While working with the Healthy Back Institute, I have talked to thousands of back pain suffers who have undergone some form of surgery.
They are shocked to learn afterward that most spinal surgeries typically fail three to five years later.
By “fail,” I mean that you find yourself in pain once again. In fact, these operations are so unreliable, that the medical establishment coined a term for them: Failed Back Pain Surgery Syndrome (FBPSS).
It’s not your fault that you were misled or that you once again are finding yourself in pain. And while you may think your case is unique, it is not. There certainly are a thousand different circumstances leading to back surgery… but the truth is your story has ended up just like everyone else’s.
The trouble is due to a slight defect in the medical community’s approach that gets played out over and over when dealing with back pain surgery.
The Healthy Back Institute - 333 Main St. Suite #201 Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 800-216-4908 Fax: 866-843-4319
The Healthy Back Institute is a Get Healthy and Fit Company
Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield underwent back surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital this week to repair a herniated disc and remove a loose fragment. Many are encouraged to hear early word the back surgery was deemed successful with 4-6 weeks of rehab to begin immediately.
Upper back surgery made the 
Carole endured back-pain for 30-years. Name the condition — herniated discs, sciatica, slipped vertebra, spinal stenosis and an “S-curved” spine — she had it all.
While working with the Healthy Back Institute, I have talked to thousands of back pain suffers who have undergone some form of surgery.
