Complications of and Alternatives to Neck Surgery – Pt 2

Another look at Neck Surgery

In last week's blog, we looked at some of the possible complications that may result from neck surgery. We wanted to make you aware of a few more complications, as well as to make you aware of an alternative to this type of surgery.

If you haven't had a chance to read that blog yet, you should be aware that because the neck is one of the more fragile parts of the body neck surgery comes with a higher risk of complications. Those risks can cause complications that could cause you need to more surgery or could even change the quality of your life for the worse. Let's look at a few more of those complications.

Possible Complications of Neck Surgery

Infection
A risk of any type of surgery is always infection due to exposure to bacteria the body cannot fight. It's very important to treat such a complication right away, as untreated infections could lead to further complications. Though, that means it's important to watch for signs of possible infections, even after the surgery, which can often be seen through weakness in the body or complications walking or talking.

Damage to Nerves
Unfortunately, not only is this a risk that every patient faces, but surgeons are unable to determine which patients are more prone to suffer from nerve damage. Damage to the nerves can lead to more pain after the surgery than was experienced before, and some people experience ongoing tingling and numbing sensations in those areas where the surgery was performed. A second surgery will be in order if nerve damage does occur during neck surgery.

Paralysis
The type of surgery that has the highest risk of causing nerve damage to the spine is cervical spinal fusion surgery. That's because of the location of this type of surgery in relation to the spinal cord. This type of nerve damage can cause more pain, weakness, loss of feeling or sensation, or even paralysis of the arms and legs.

Avoiding Complications of Surgery

Now, we understand surgery isn't always avoidable, but when it is, there is an alternative that won't come with those high complications. People are just so accustomed to taking the easy way out, but what appears to be the easy way can often come with the most consequences.

The key to recovering from any neck injury is to get to the underlying cause so that the neck can properly heal. Head and neck injuries will frequently lead to misalignments in the upper neck. These misalignments will lead to changes in posture, muscle tone, nerve flow and more. Restoring normal alignment in the upper neck is commonly the first step to truly recovering your health and life.

For that reason, we want to make you aware of a much safer alternative.

To find a Doctor in your area go to www.NUCCA.org or if you are in the Redwood City California area to schedule your NUCCA evaluation, click the button below:

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Dr. Pete Tsiglieris of Advanced Spinal Care in Redwood City, California is an Upper Cervical Specialist trained by the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). His upper cervical clinic also serves San Mateo, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, San Carlos, and Sunnyvale. They are uniquely trained to correct problems in the upper cervical spine (upper neck). This vital area is intimately connected to the central nervous system and problems in this area have been shown to be an underlying cause of a variety of different health problems, including migraines and other headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain, back pain and shoulder pain and weakness. More information can be found on our website at https://bayareanuccacare.com/