Failed Back Syndrome

Description:

Failed back syndrome, also called “failed back surgery syndrome”, refers to chronic back and/or leg pain that occurs after back surgery, usually after. It is characterized as a chronic pain syndrome. Contributing factors include but are not limited to residual or recurrent disc herniation causing ongoing persistent post-operative pressure on a spinal nerve; altered joint mobility, joint hypermobility with instability; loss of bony support caused by removal of the lamina, which is part of the tissues compounding the initial pressure on the nerve (laminectomy); scar tissue (fibrosis) whose growth is beyond medical control and which can create a new type of pressure on nerve roots; altered vascular supply to spinal tissues, probably due at least in part to the same process of fibrosis; spinal muscular deconditioning caused by both muscle, ligament and tendon injury during surgery, as well as deconditioning during recovery; and finally, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression.