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Spinal Fusion: No Research Done to Support Its Use

The March/April 1996 issue of the ICA (International Chiropractic Association) Review brings us an article from The British Medical Journal in 1996 which reports that more than 20,000 lumbar spinal fusions are performed each year in the United States despite the fact that there has never been a randomized, controlled study of spinal fusion compared with non-surgical treatment.

Not only are the number of spinal surgeries directly related to the number of surgeons in an area, they are, in fact, contraindicated in many cases. Spine in 1994 reports “A recent study of people seeking compensation for a work induced injury showed that the back pain and lifestyle deteriorated after spinal fusion.” Spine reported in 1993 that “In a survey of 600 surgical cases, 21.2% of patients had serious complications such as nerve root damage.”

In short, the British Medical Journal author, J. Wilson-MacDonald concludes that “The case for spinal fusion for back pain has not been proved. Excellent results have been obtained with non-surgical treatments, and adequate resources have not been fully applied to assess these methods.” Well spoken, indeed.

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