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Prescriptions of Opioids Pre and Post Back Surgery for Ashburn and Herndon Back Pain, Chiropractic Care May Reduce Rxs and Pain

September 05, 2023

The use of opioid pain medication for pain has been a common treatment. Its use is a little too common as medicine today is even attempting to slow its prescription. For back surgery patients, it has been quite common, both before and/or after back surgery. Though today the use of opioids is being less supported, many back pain sufferers still receive opioid prescriptions from their healthcare providers. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn would enjoy being the first healthcare provider Ashburn and Herndon back pain and neck pain patients visit and truly welcome the opportunity to take care of the post-surgical continued pain patients - with or without opioid prescriptions - who come to us with the same or returned pain in the same spinal area where they had surgery. We are ready to help.

BACK SURGERY OUTCOME PREDICTORS: # of Rx Prescribers and # of Rx Prescriptions

Very few rush into back surgery. Back pain sufferers often seek care from various healthcare providers before surgery is considered and/or scheduled. 66.9% of patients in a retrospective study of patients who underwent single-level fusion surgeries employed one or less opioid prescription prescribers before surgery while 33.1% had more than one opioid prescribers. The more pre-surgical opioid prescribers in a back surgery patient’s case was a predictor of increased improvement of post-surgical back pain. The more pre-surgical opioid prescriptions a patient used was a predictor for poorer surgical outcomes including worse improvement in back VAS pain scores, leg VAS pain scores, Oswestry Disability Index scores, and for more post-surgical opioid prescriptions, prescribers, and morphine milligram equivalents. An interesting and seemingly side note to the study was that if a nonoperative spine provider was involved in the case, a better improvement in leg pain VAS scores was seen. (1) Chiropractic is a profession of nonoperative spine providers! We chiropractors are ready and well-trained to help contrain back pain before and after surgery and give patients an opportunity to lower their opioid use for pain management. 

CHIROPRACTIC POST-SURGICAL CARE AND OPIOID USE

For patients who underwent back surgery to find that they experience back pain in the same area that the surgery was supposed to fix, the return of pain can be frustrating. Some return to the medical model and receive new pain medication prescriptions or extended prescriptions for the post-surgery meds. Others seek chiropractic care. A recent study of such patients who turned to chiropractic care with chiropractors who are certified in Cox® Technic spinal manipulation (manual spinal decompression manipulation) reported that of the 59 patients in the study, 11 came into the study utilizing opioid medications. Eight of them self-reported that they reduced or quit their use. Three said they maintained their use. (2) This is hopeful for many post-surgical continued pain patients that pain relief enough to not have to rely on medications may be possible]. Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn is Ashburn and Herndon’s post-surgical back pain provider to consult for Cox® Technic treatment.

CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Marc Baker on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares his use of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in delivering relief for a military veteran with back pain after back surgery.

Make your Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic appointment today. If you have had back surgery - currently taking pain meds, opioids, or not - we are looking to seeing and helping you.

Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic care to reduce pain after back surgery and potentially patient choice to use opioids