Meniscus tears.
Degenerative disc disease.
Rotator Cuff tears.
It’s been said that if you’re old enough to have wrinkles, you have at least one the injuries mentioned above. But are they really the “pain generator” or are they an incidental finding on an MRI.
One thing is for sure, if you go to a surgeon they are probably going to recommend surgery.
But then again if you go to a barber they are going to recommend a haircut.
So do you need surgery or not?
Sure, you can take out the torn piece of meniscus but how long until your now “bone on bone” knee needs to be replaced?
You can spend the next 8 months rehabbing your repaired rotator cuff muscle but could you have been fully functional in 3 months by just doing rehab to begin with?
And don’t even get me started on spine surgeries. The only question if you have one is will you live long enough to get your second one.
So what’s the deciding factor on whether or not you go under the knife?
FUNCTION. Specifically how much function gain you gain through conservative, non-operative approaches.
How much function can you gain? Usually a lot. The question is do you get enough function restored to live YOUR life, doing the activities YOU want to do.
Is the rehab going to mend your torn meniscus or sew back together that massive rotator cuff tear or somehow create more space for the nerves to run out of your spine? NO. It is not.
However what it can do is get you functional and moving and enjoying the activities that you want without going under the knife.
Worst case scenario? You end up needing surgery (some people certainly do) and now you are much stronger going into that operation and therefore in a great position to have a good outcome on the other side.
Remember though, it’s a process. People overestimate what they can accomplish in a day and underestimate what they can accomplish in 3 months.
So they next time one of these injuries pops up on a scan consider all your options before rushing to get surgery. You may not need it.
All Gain No Pain 