Experts say that nearly 600,000 Americans turn to back surgery every year looking for relief from pain. For many, like Nancy Scatena, relief is never found.

Scatena was back in pain just one month after her back surgery. The pain was so intense even her pain medication couldn’t take the edge off. Finally she decided to seek a second opinion. The new doctor assured her that he could fix everything. He fused two of her vertebrae together. At first she experienced some pain free days, then the pain came back, with a vengeance.

In many cases surgery can backfire leaving you in more pain than when you started, this according to a study in the journal Spine.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation records showed 1,450 patients who had disc degeneration, disc herniation, or radiculopathy. Of that group half chose to fuse two or more discs together while the other half chose no surgery at all.

After 2 years, 67 percent that didn’t have surgery went back to work. Of those that elected for surgery, only 27 percent were able to go back to work. Also those that chose to have surgery saw a 41 percent increase in the use of painkillers following surgery.

According to Dr. Trang Nguyen, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the study clearly showed that fusion surgeries to alleviate pain for degenerating disc disease does not work.

Even with bad outcomes and studies showing this might not be the solution, fusion surgery is on the rise. In just 15 years there was an eight fold jump in the number of surgeries performed. This has many surgeons and heath experts concerned.

For those with back pain, non-surgical conservative treatments such as spinal decompression therapy seems to be a better solution.