Are treatments with Meditrac's traction devices a better option than surgery?
In most cases, using Meditrac's traction devices is preferred to surgery. This is due to the fact that surgery physically alters the spine by removing all or part of the problematic disc. Although this can reduce the pressure on the nerve and relieve back pain, the surgery tends to place more stress on the healthy discs directly above and below the problematic disc.
As with any operation, there are risks associated with spinal surgery and complications can be severe. Possible complications include:
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Injury to the spinal cord, nerves, esophagus, carotid artery, or vocal cords
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Non-healing of the bony fusion
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Failure to improve
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Instrumentation breakage and/or failure
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Infection
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Bone graft site pain
Other complications may include phlebitis in your legs, blood clots in the lungs, or urinary problems.
Surgery to relieve chronic lower back pain is usually no better than intensive rehabilitation and nearly twice as expensive.
We do not ignore the fact that there is a small percentage of cases that indeed require surgery or medication. In some cases, surgery can significantly help back pain sufferers. But surgery should always be a last resort, offered when conservative treatments have failed.
We recommend that you exhaust all other avenues before surgery.
Frustration over Surgery for Disc Disease – January 2005
At the annual meeting of the International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine held in New York City in 2005, research discussions emphasized the fact that there is growing frustration over the lack of progress in the surgical treatment of degenerative disc disease. Despite a steady stream of technological innovations over the past 15 years, from pedicle crew systems to fusion cages to artificial discs, there is little evidence that patient outcomes have improved.
The BackLetter, Vol 20, No. 7 2005.
