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Sometimes I get depressed by all the x-rays I see of spines with metal plates and screws in them, or the patient who doesn’t have any new hardware in their spines but says: “Dr. Hall, I’m in more pain now than I was prior to surgery. What did they do to me?” First of all its important to know that I’m not against surgery as a last resort. But it should never be the first choice before more conservative treatment such as chiropractic is utilized, unless it’s a life threatening condition. One should always remember that like chiropractic and dentistry, surgery is an art and one needs to make sure that they choose a true “surgical artist” who is dedicated to the least amount of invasive procedures to make the most repair. By the way, we at Hall Chiropractic know who the “surgery artists” are in Austin.

Unfortunately one can’t perform spine surgery without cutting tissue and tissue repairs itself with scar tissue formation. Unfortunately depending on the patient and their heredity, some make more scar tissue than others and this scar tissue can take up more space and cause more nerve compression than the original problem.

Fortunately, in many cases, a lot can be done by chiropractic to help lessen or remove the symptoms.

Flexion-distraction technique is used at Hall Chiropractic with good effect to break up scar tissue and relieve nerve compression; we also get good results with our spinal decompression table depending on the type of surgery performed. Interferential, ultrasound, cold laser and nutritional supplementation are also of great benefit.