Post-Surgical Laminectomy Patient Helped With Chiropractic - a Case Study

A case study report documented in the March 19, 2007 issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, reported on the case of a 37 year old male who suffered from persistent low back and leg pain following a L4-L5 surgical laminectomy. The surgery was performed 6 months prior to this case study and the initiation of chiropractic care.

The young man in this study had suffered a work injury 11 months before chiropractic care that resulted in continuous severe lower back pain and numbness in the leg. Five months after his accident his orthopedic surgeon diagnosed him with an L4 and L5 disk herniation and was told he needed back surgery. The surgical procedure performed was extensive as the patient underwent a double laminectomy to the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. Following the surgery, he was given pain medication and told to take it twice daily.

The surgical procedure was not successful in correcting the patient's pain and finally at 11 months after his initial accident he got a chiropractic examination and x-rays. The finding showed no pathologies except those created by the surgery. However, there were significant structural spinal abnormalities and postural issues present.

Chiropractic care was initiated and continued regularly for several months. Re-examinations were routinely performed to monitor structural changes and patient progress. Ultimately, even though this patient has undergone an extensive surgical procedure, he did improve both structurally and in his symptoms and quality of life. As the researchers in this case explained, the patient improved, "achieving a significant reduction in symptoms not obtained following recent surgery." A follow up was performed 9 months later and showed that the patient had maintained his structural corrections as well as his symptomatic improvement.