Chronic back pain can make even simple tasks hard to accomplish. Dealing with chronic back pain can involve many things like physical therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, and sometimes surgery. Surgery tends to be the last resort as there are many other options and surgery is an extensive process. Here’s when you should consider surgery:

• Ongoing Pain That Doesn’t Respond to Other Treatments: If you’ve spent 6 months or more engaging in other treatments with no change in pain, surgery may be considered. Imaging tests may show a structural issue that’s unlikely to heal on its own, making surgery a reasonable next step. 
• Spinal Instability: In spinal instability, one vertebra slips out of place and moves over another causing pain and nerve irritation. Mild cases can often be treated with physical therapy, but more advanced cases may require a spinal fusion to stabilize the spine and prevent further movement. 
• Nerve Compression Causing Numbness or Weakness: One of the most common reasons for spine surgery is nerve compression which can include shooting pain down one or both legs, tingling/burning sensations, or muscle weakness.