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June 29, 2011

"Back surgery finally!" you jump for joy, hoping that the spinal surgeon will be your hero. Your battle with back pain seemed endless before the back surgery. Now, after back surgery, you find that back pain has returned, or it's moved. Turn to chiropractic for help, and in La Grande Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is the chiropractic practice to visit.

Pain after Back Surgery

La Grande back surgery patients who have continued pain after back surgery may find that...

  • segments above and below the operated spinal level now hurt, especially if they were degenerated before the back surgery. (2) Consider the L4 disc. It now has to do its own work PLUS the work of L5. It wears out. If it was a bit worn out before the back surgery, it wears out even faster after.
    • Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC treats each segment individually with Cox Technic for the best possible results.
  • their overall muscle tone is poorer. Low back muscles are smaller, weaker and fattier than those patients who don't have pain. (3)
    • Exercise focusing on these muscles is important, and Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC has just the exercises.
  • their sacroiliac joints may now hurt (4). These may even be the most likely site of pain after spinal fusion surgery. (5)
    • La Grande chiropractic care for the SIJ is gentle and effective.
  • internal disc disruption, zygapophysial joint pain and soft tissue irritation from the fusion hardware are the culprits. (5)

Failed back surgery is not a rare occurrence. Half of back surgery patients still have the same pain one year post-surgery (6). With 1,175,000 in-patient back surgeries a year in the U.S. (7), pain after back surgery is a factor, even in La Grande. Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is here to evaluate and help, working with you, your pain physician, your spinal surgeon, and your family. We all want you to enjoy life again with limited or no pain.

Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC Helps Relieve Back Pain

Under Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC's Cox Technic care, patients find low back pain relief in 29 days and 12 visits on average. Most of our patients even continue working and don't require strong, pain-controlling drugs.

Control for back pain is a more realistic expectation than a cure. All the drugs or surgeries in the world may not "fix" you. If you have a spinal defect, it stays with you. If you choose surgery, scar tissue may result, surrounding muscles may now ache, or nearby spinal segments may wear down and hurt. None of this is unusual. 

Certainly, spinal surgery has its place for those 2%-10% of patients who really do need it. (1,8) For the rest, Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC's chiropractic has non-surgical ways to work on muscles, relax scar tissue, and relieve back pain. 
 
 
 spinal surgeons doing back surgery
 "As a [neuro]surgeon wanting to do surgery, I don't want to see 90 people who don't need me."
- Hamilton Hall, MD(1)

Back Pain Relief for La Grande Residents

Take this first step toward enjoying life again. Contact La Grande's chiropractic pain-relieving center, Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC, for a thorough examination and personalized treatment plan.

Click here for References for FEATURE: Relief for Pain after Back Surgery.