Prescriptions of Opioids Pre and Post Back Surgery for La Grande Back Pain, Chiropractic Care May Reduce Rxs and Pain
The use of opioid pain medication for pain has been a customary treatment. Its use is a little too common as medicine today is even attempting to scale back on its prescription. For back surgery patients, it’s 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. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC would enjoy being the first healthcare provider La Grande back pain and neck pain patients visit and truly embrace the opportunity to care for 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 their surgery was. We’re have the skills to help.
BACK SURGERY OUTCOME PREDICTORS: # of Rx Prescribers and # of Rx Prescriptions
Very few hurry into back surgery. Back pain sufferers often seek care from various healthcare providers before surgery is contemplated and/or scheduled. 66.9% of patients in a retrospective study of patients who had single-level fusion surgeries employed one or less opioid prescription prescribers before surgery while 33.1% retained 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 had was a predictor for poorer surgical outcomes including poorer 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 manage 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 went through 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 with opioid medications. Eight of them self-reported that they lowered or discontinued their use. Three said they continued their use. (2) This holds hope for many post-surgical continued pain patients that pain relief enough to not have to depend on medications may be possible]. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is La Grande’s post-surgical back pain provider to consult for Cox® Technic treatment.
CONTACT Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Marc Baker on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes 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 La Grande chiropractic appointment today. If you’ve had back surgery - currently taking pain meds, opioids, or not - we look forward to seeing and helping you.
