Interactive Tool: Should You Consider Surgery for Your Low Back?

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Click here to find out whether surgery may help decrease the symptoms of a back problem .

This interactive tool will not diagnose a back problem, but it will tell you whether surgery might help decrease or eliminate symptoms related to your low back problem. There is always a risk with any surgery, so most people don't want to have surgery unless there is a very good chance it will help them. Although research shows that surgery is very likely to be effective for some problems, it rarely helps with others. This tool will help determine whether your own low back problem might be helped by surgery. You will want to talk to your doctor about surgery and your other options.

This tool is not meant for people in emergency situations. Talk to your doctor immediately if you are concerned about your symptoms or if you have any of the following problems:

• Bladder and/or bowel problems, including not being able to go to the bathroom as you normally do or not being able to control bowel movements or urination
• Loss of feeling or rapidly decreasing feeling over your feet and heels or in your “saddle area”—this includes any part of your skin that might touch a saddle if you were on a horse, including your buttocks, your inner thighs, and the backs of your legs
• Increasing weakness or problems with coordination in one or both legs

Health tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.

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	Low back surgery quiz

About 90% of the symptoms of low back problems, such as back pain and pain down the back of the leg, go away by themselves within 6 weeks, and 98% are gone within 1 year.¹ As you work through this tool, you will get an idea of whether surgery or other treatment might help you if your symptoms have lasted longer.

If you are concerned about back pain or other related symptoms such as leg pain, numbness, or weakness, talk to your doctor about what steps you can take. If surgery is unlikely to help, you can still take action to decrease and control your symptoms.

Citations

1. Carragee EJ, Hannibal M (2004). Diagnostic evaluation of low back pain. Orthopedic Clinics of North America, 35(2004): 7–16.