“My pain persists even after back surgery, why?”
A month ago I underwent a minor back surgery for a pinched nerve in my lower back. I am currently recuperating from the surgery, but the pain is still persistent. When should the pain start subsiding? Should I take any medication for this pain to subside?
3 Answers
A month is a relatively brief period of time to expect resolution of pinched nerve type pain particularly if the nerve was compressed for more than a few weeks. The blood supply to the nerve may have been compromised somewhat by the disc, and as such, will need more time to recover, possibly six months or longer. As the nerve's blood supply is restored following surgery (barring any severe scarring), the nerve typically responds by swelling, which can lead to additional pain. A combination of additional time, some modest physical therapy, and analgesic medications may help. Consult your operating surgeon for additional information.
Kenneth D. Candido, M.D.
Kenneth D. Candido, M.D.
Couple of things,
first you have to understand what was going on prior to you having surgery: a nerve was pinched and gets very irritated and inflamed which causes pain. You have surgery, which removes what was pinching your nerve and causing the irritation and subsequent inflammation. however, the nerve is still irritated and inflamed after surgery and needs time to heal. Sometimes this happens quickly and some times not so quick and could require a steroid injection to take the inflammation away from it and stop the pain.
Second, you need to see if you had a secondary problem superimposed on the the primary problem. Most common is a sacroiliac joint that gets inflamed on the same side as the side of the pinched nerve and over time, the pain to the patient feels the same. You have the surgery to remove what is pinching the nerve, but the pain persists. This is the pain from the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint is called “the great mascarader”. And, unless you treat the sacroiliac joint after your surgery, you’ll continue to have this pain that feels as if it is the same pain prior to surgery and is confused with the pinched nerve you had.
It will feel as if the surgery did not help at all.
I hope this was helpful.
first you have to understand what was going on prior to you having surgery: a nerve was pinched and gets very irritated and inflamed which causes pain. You have surgery, which removes what was pinching your nerve and causing the irritation and subsequent inflammation. however, the nerve is still irritated and inflamed after surgery and needs time to heal. Sometimes this happens quickly and some times not so quick and could require a steroid injection to take the inflammation away from it and stop the pain.
Second, you need to see if you had a secondary problem superimposed on the the primary problem. Most common is a sacroiliac joint that gets inflamed on the same side as the side of the pinched nerve and over time, the pain to the patient feels the same. You have the surgery to remove what is pinching the nerve, but the pain persists. This is the pain from the sacroiliac joint. The sacroiliac joint is called “the great mascarader”. And, unless you treat the sacroiliac joint after your surgery, you’ll continue to have this pain that feels as if it is the same pain prior to surgery and is confused with the pinched nerve you had.
It will feel as if the surgery did not help at all.
I hope this was helpful.
Pain after back surgery that lasts more than a month may be "Failed Back." See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failed_back_syndrome. It is unfortunately common, which is why spinal and back surgery should always be avoided if at all possible. Pain meds may help short-term but will not help, or make things worse, long-term. If you are in the Los Angeles area check out https://www.lasermdpainrelief.com/low-back-pain-treatment.html .
