If you’re slated to undergo an elective spine surgery, you may assume that the success of your surgery and rehabilitation is largely up to your surgeon. They’ll certainly play a big role in the success of your operation, which is why it’s so important to move forward with a provider that you trust, but you play a much larger role in your functional outcome than you may realize. In today’s blog, we share some ways that patients can improve their likelihood of achieving a favorable outcome following spine surgery and rehabilitation.
Improving Surgery Outcomes
If you want to improve your odds of experiencing a successful outcome following your back surgery and recovery, you’ll want to keep these tips in mind.
- Be As Healthy As Possible Heading Into Surgery – Some people assume that their work will begin once the surgeon’s work is done, but that’s simply not true. There’s plenty for you to do in the lead up to your operation. The healthier you are heading into surgery, the healthier you’ll be coming out of surgery, and that bodes well for your recovery and rehab plan. Keep working to strengthen your back with exercise and prehabilitation therapy, and mind your diet so that your body has access to a range of healthy vitamins and nutrients. You’ll also want to have good therapy and diet habits following your operation, and many find it easier to keep up with their rehabilitation plan if they already formed some healthy habits prior to the operation.
- Mind Your Weight – This ties into the above point, but obesity is one of the leading causes of complications during spine surgery, so we thought it deserved its own point. Being overweight or obese also means that your back has to handle more stress with each movement, so losing just a little bit of weight can go a long way in helping to protect your spine while it’s in a weakened state after the operation. Weight loss is also a common non-operative treatment, so losing weight may even be able to help you avoid an operation altogether. Talk to your doctor about where they’d like to see your weight prior to spine surgery, and take steps to hit that target in the lead up to your operation.
- Give Up Smoking – If you smoke at all, even a little, you’ll want to work to kick the habit ahead of your operation. Tobacco use has been tied to an increased risk of surgical site complications and infections. Smoking can also decrease circulation, and your spine is going to need a healthy supply of oxygenated blood to help spur tissue healing after your operation. Kick your cigarettes to the curb if you want to improve your outcomes.
- Push Yourself During Physical Therapy – Physical therapy is likely the single most helpful aspect of your recovery in terms of helping you regain as much physical function as possible, so you’ll want to give it your all during your sessions. We don’t want you to do too much, too soon and cause a setback, but be honest with your physical therapist about the challenges or lack of difficulty you’re experiencing when doing your exercises. If your PT exercises are too hard or too easy, you’re not going to get the most benefit out of them. Talk with your physical therapist during your sessions and do your home-based exercises when you’re not in the clinic to get the most out of your PT sessions.
- Care For Your Mental Health – Finally, your mental and physical health are closely related, and if you’re not taking care of your mental health while you’re working to recover following back surgery, your physical health could suffer. Recovering after surgery can be mentally exhausting, so make sure that you are taking time to care for your mental and emotional health. Talk about your frustrations with your doctor, invite family or friends over for a meal and conversation, or just do something you love that takes your mind off your spine for a little while. We promise that this will make your physical recovery easier.
For more tips on how you can improve your outcomes after spine surgery, or to talk to a specialist about your back discomfort, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
