Top 5 Reasons You May Experience Severe Pain After Spine Surgery

What happens if the spine surgery that was supposed to alleviate your pain actually resulted in more pain? Many patients come to us after seeing other spine specialists, still experiencing continued back pain after spine surgery, such as severe pain after spinal fusion surgery. They are often told that nothing can be done or that their pain is ‘normal.’ This is simply not true! There is typically a specific and correctable cause for pain after spine surgery. At VSI, our experienced team of spine surgeons specialize in diagnosing and treating persistent pain after prior spine surgery, by focusing on identifying the root cause and delivering effective solutions.

The key to finding solutions is pinpointing the source of pain, and utilizing robotics and navigation to efficiently perform complex procedures to alleviate the pain and improve the patient’s quality of life. With use of surgical precision and modern technology our team is able to provide hope for those suffering with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). You’re in good hands at VSI!

5 Common Causes For Pain After Spine Surgery

Spinal instability and Abnormal Motion

Sometimes back pain is caused by nerve impingement brought on by herniated discs or spinal stenosis. In this situation, decompression surgery is necessary to relieve the pressure and pain. I often see patients that have had this type of surgery without any sort of bone fusion. This might have been a good idea initially, but as more bone is taken away to relieve pressure, the risk of spinal instability become great. The human spine is designed to be both rigid and flexible, but if we remove portions of the bone, that support system is disrupted. A spinal fusion helps to bind the spine together to provide stability and the initial pain felt after surgery will then resolve.

Lack of Spinal Fusion

A spinal fusion involves one bone growing into another. As discussed above, sometimes the spine becomes unstable and a spinal fusion is required to regain that stability. Unfortunately, there are instances where a spinal fusion ‘doesn’t take,’ meaning the bones didn’t grow together, resulting in severe pain after surgery. Patients may experience lower back pain, leg pain, or various muscle pains after spinal fusion. This could be the result of surgical skill, or it could be the patient didn’t allow his or herself enough time to recover. Thankfully, this type of pain can be fixed by having the appropriate spine surgeon re-do the fusion, and allowing your body time to properly fuse.

Poor Posture

Spinal fusions remove mobility in the fused area, helping to provide support for our body. If a spinal fusion is done improperly, the patient may heal in an improper posture, leading to long-term back pain. Patients may experience lower back problems from sitting, slouching and more.

One example of this is if the body heals in a forward flexed position, also known as flatback syndrome. Pain for something like this is typically progressive throughout the day as the improper posture starts to wear on the body. In these cases the solution would be to surgically realign the spine to the corrected position.

Progression of Nerve Pinching and Arthritis

Diagnosing back pain and designing a tailored spine care treatment plan involves a comprehensive approach. Some surgeons may not be thorough in their diagnosis and might only address some of the underlying issues, which can lead to persistent pain. Continued back discomfort after surgery may result from persistent nerve compression or arthritis that has progressed to other levels. Receiving a more thorough examination to determine ALL affected levels, and then revising the original surgery to address all underlying issues. This method should alleviate the pain.

Painful Spinal Fusion Hardware

If screws and rods are used in the back surgery, they have the potential to cause long term pain and discomfort. During spine surgery, the implants (or hardware) are necessary to establish fusion. However, once fusion is achieved, the hardware no longer serves a purpose. If the hardware becomes bothersome after surgery was performed, simply removing it may get you to 100% and achieve optimal results.