Chiropractic care after back surgery in St. Thomas

Some patients come to us weeks, months, or years after a spine surgery, a discectomy, a laminectomy, or a fusion, and they still have pain. This page is written for that patient. It is not a substitute for the after-surgery instructions your surgeon gave you. If you are early in recovery, follow your surgeon's protocol and bring it with you when you call.

Tradewinds Chiropractic & Wellness is in the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, just east of Charlotte Amalie. Dr. Keys is the Chair of the Virgin Islands Board of Chiropractic Examiners, a member of the Virgin Islands Chiropractic Society, and the International Chiropractors Association representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

What patients tell us

Pain that never fully went away after the operation. New pain at a different level of the spine, months or years after a fusion, often called adjacent segment pain. Stiffness that never loosened up. Weakness that lingers longer than expected. Some patients are simply afraid to move the way they used to and have lost strength and confidence along with it. Surgery can fix what it was meant to fix and a patient can still be left with a spine that needs rehabilitation and a body that has deconditioned around the injury.

What we can and cannot do

Dr. Keys does treat patients with a fusion or spinal hardware. Fused levels are not adjusted; care focuses on the areas above and below and the surrounding soft tissue. Care after surgery is not about undoing or working around the operation. It is about those neighboring levels, the scar tissue that built up during recovery, and rebuilding the strength and motion that surgery and time off take away.

When care can start depends on the surgery. Clearance from your surgeon is preferred before your first visit. Bringing your operative report helps too, because it shows exactly what was done and at which levels.

How we treat it at Tradewinds

The exam is thorough: a history that includes the surgery itself, what has and has not improved, and a hands-on and neurological look at the whole spine, not just the level that was operated on. Digital x-rays help us see what is fused, what is not, and how the rest of the spine is moving around it.

Treatment leans low-force. Extremity and soft tissue work for the muscles and scar tissue that guard a healed incision, gentle mobilization of the joints above and below a fusion that are now doing extra work, and spinal rehabilitation and therapeutic exercise to rebuild strength and confidence in movement. Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization is often useful on scar tissue itself once it has fully healed. All of this is on our services page. We set a trial of care with a clear re-check date, and if it is not helping, we say so rather than keep going.

When you should go back to your surgeon

Some symptoms after spine surgery need your surgeon, not us, and we will tell you plainly if we see them:

• New or worsening numbness, weakness, or loss of bowel or bladder control
• Clicking, grinding, or a feeling of new instability at the surgical site
• Redness, warmth, drainage, or fever, especially in the months right after surgery
• Pain that is getting steadily worse rather than better
• Any symptom your surgeon told you specifically to watch for

If anything about the exam raises a question about the hardware or the fusion itself, we send you back to the surgeon who did the operation rather than guess.

Getting seen

Call (340) 690-4994 or email info@tradewindschiropractic.com, and mention that you are calling about care after a spine surgery so we can ask you to bring your operative report. We are in the VI Medical Foundation Building, Suite 202, 9150 Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, USVI 00802. Hours are Mon, Wed, Thu: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm; Tue, Fri: 7:00 am to 2:00 pm; closed Sat and Sun. We take walk-ins and same-day appointments. We have more than 180 five-star Google reviews.

Questions patients ask

Can a chiropractor help after back surgery?

Sometimes. Dr. Keys does treat patients with a fusion or spinal hardware. Fused levels are not adjusted; care focuses on the areas above and below and the surrounding soft tissue. Rebuilding strength and motion is part of it, and clearance from your surgeon is preferred before your first visit.

I had a spinal fusion. Is it safe to see a chiropractor?

Dr. Keys does treat patients with a fusion or spinal hardware. Fused levels are not adjusted; care focuses on the areas above and below and the surrounding soft tissue. We add rehabilitation exercise and coordinate with your surgeon.

How soon after surgery can I start?

When care can start depends on the surgery. Clearance from your surgeon is preferred before your first visit. When you call, tell us which operation you had and when, and if you are still early in recovery, follow your surgeon's protocol.

Do I need to bring anything from my surgeon?

It helps. Bring your operative report if you have it. Clearance from your surgeon is preferred before your first visit. If you do not have either on hand, tell us when you call and we can talk about next steps.

I have hardware in my back, rods or screws. Can you still treat me?

Yes. Dr. Keys does treat patients with a fusion or spinal hardware. Fused levels are not adjusted; care focuses on the areas above and below and the surrounding soft tissue. If anything in the exam raises a question about the hardware itself, we send you back to your surgeon.