The damage is not done.  We have many patients that come to us with an injury looking to avoid surgery.  They have already met with a surgeon and the surgeon told them:

““The damage is done.  There is nothing you can do, so keep doing what you love to do and tolerate the pain as long as possible and when it becomes unbearable we’ll go in there and “fix” it.””

This is usually advice given for patients with disc or joint related injuries/conditions that are degenerative in nature.  The bad hip, bad back, bad knee sort of thing. BUT, this is some of the worst advice a patient can receive. If you want to guarantee having surgery in the future, then follow that advice.  If you want to avoid surgery, continue reading…..

First, your injury is most likely the result of a trauma or repeated action that you do on a regular basis.  It could be work related, it may be your favorite hobby, it may be the one activity you love most in the world, but the fact of the matter is that something created this problem.  If you continue to do the same activity thinking the damage is done, you are in for a world of hurt when the damage gets worse. And it will get worse, and it will hurt more. So don’t just keep doing what you’ve always done.

That brings us to our second point, your injury CAN get worse.  Almost all injuries can and will get worse over time. Especially disc related injuries.  They will continue to degenerate and break down faster unless you do something to slow it down.  Same goes for the progression of joint injuries or arthritic knees, hips, and shoulders.

Third, there is MOST DEFINITELY something you can do about it.  Actually, there are a lot of things you can do about it. This is what we help people with every day, all day long.

We guide every patient through specific tests to help better establish a COMPLETE diagnosis.  Yes you may have a disc injury, but do you also have poor low back motion, hip dysfunction, and/or muscle imbalances that are all contributing to your injury getting worse?  If so, our treatment will fix these problems by unloading your injury allowing it to get better. Doing this will also slow the progressive nature of your problem pushing that possible surgery out decades down the road.  In addition, can we alter your work duties or change an activity to help allow this problem to heal? This is called Load Management and is also an integral part of our treatment process. We ask all the right questions to help determine exactly what is contributing to your injury so that we can remove it and get you feeling better.

So you may be wondering…

“Then why didn’t my surgeon recommend your treatment instead of just telling me to deal with it until it is unbearable?”

This is a common mistake in healthcare these days.  A lot of doctors are so overloaded with insurance nonsense, packed schedules (due to low insurance reimbursement) and tedious electronic record documentation requirements that they just don’t do a complete job.  They end up recommending their own treatment when it is warranted, and when not, they dismiss the case.

In addition, over the past 11 years in practice I have yet to have a surgeon reach out to ask about how our treatments may benefit their patients before or after surgery.  Not once in 11 years of practice, even after I have referred multiple patients that needed surgical consults did any surgeons inquire about our treatment or exactly what we do.  Our treatments have actually reversed findings on MRI, and yet they don’t seem to care. They simply accepted the patient and moved on. 

All in all, we want what is best for you so that you live a long, healthy, active life into your 80’s and 90’s.  So if you or anyone you know is just waiting for the day the ibuprofen doesn’t take the edge off anymore, give us a call and let’s get you healthier.  Let’s avoid that surgery all together!

Because the damage is NOT done.  If you do nothing your injury WILL get worse and eventually surgery will be your ONLY option.

Dr. Brian A. Zelasko
Soft Tissue Specialist
Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic

Zelasko Soft Tissue & Spine
3075 Southwestern Blvd., STE 200
Orchard Park, NY 14127
www.ZelaskoSpine.com