Chiropractic Associated with Opioid Usage Reduction or Discontinued in Patients After Failed Back Surgery

The Journal of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine published the results of a cohort study showing that chiropractic care was associated with a reduction and/or discontinuation of opioid usage in patients suffering from failed back surgery.

According to another study published in Cureus and available on the National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information’s website, 14.97% of all back surgeries suffer from "failed back surgery syndrome" and continue to have chronic pain. They also estimate that there are 900,000 back surgeries performed in the United States each year.

The authors of the study begin by noting that "Continued spinal pain and disability following spine surgery frequently results in continued or increased use of opioid pain medication." There has been much written about the epidemic of opioid usage in the U.S. with the CDC noting that "The number of people who died from a drug overdose in 2021 was over six times the number in 1999. The number of drug overdose deaths increased more than 16% from 2020 to 2021. Over 75% of the nearly 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021 involved an opioid."

With the above statistics, any form of care that reduces or eliminates the need for and usage of opioids should be embraced as a positive step forward in the care of failed lower back surgery patients.

In this study, 11 failed back surgery syndrome patients were seen by different chiropractors. All 11 were still using opioids for pain after their back surgery. The results of the care were documented to determine if chiropractic care had an effect on these patients' usage of opioids. These patients were given initial questionnaires prior to chiropractic care, and follow-up questionnaires three months into their chiropractic care.

The results of the study showed that in 8 of the 11, nearly 73% of these patients reported a reduction or discontinuation of opioid use for pain control related to their back surgery. Three of the patients had no change in their opioid usage. None of the patients reported increasing their opioid usage.

Considering the size and impact of the opioid crisis currently in the U.S., any type of drugless care that can have this large an impact in reducing opioid usage should be embraced. The study authors noted in their conclusion, "Of the 11 patients reporting the use of opioids for FBSS at the onset of care, 8 reported a reduction or discontinuation of opioid use at 3 months of care. The results of this brief descriptive analysis show promise for the potential reduction of opioid use in Failed Back Surgery Syndrome patients, and the need for larger studies."