How to Prepare for Spine Surgery

If you're scheduled for back, neck, or spine surgery in Hoboken (or any location), it’s normal to have some anxieties leading up to surgery. Fortunately, spine surgery preparation can help ease your mind. Here are some helpful tips about how to prepare for your spine surgery and recovery.

1. Educate Yourself

Educating yourself is the best way to feel confident about your diagnosis and about the procedure you're about to undergo, whether it’s a minimally-invasive procedure, motion preservation surgery, or something else. Consider reading everything from medical research to reviewing FAQ’s. Make sure your surgeon answers all of your questions so that you enter surgery feeling your most prepared.

2. Consider Getting a Second Opinion

Whether you’re looking for reassurance or simply another’s opinion, it’s usually a good idea to seek a second opinion. As a rule of thumb, you should be comfortable with:

- Your surgeon’s surgical plan
- Your surgeon’s ability to answer your questions
- Reasoning behind the surgery recommendation
- Goals of the surgery

3. Talk With Your Doctor About Spine Surgery Preparation Instructions

Along with educating yourself about your diagnosis and upcoming surgery, you should also talk with your doctor about how you can prepare for your spine surgery. Your doctor should give you specific instructions that you should follow precisely. This can help ensure that your surgery goes as smoothly as possible.

4. Enlist Support from your Friends and Family

It is normal to have worries before a surgery, of any type. You'll likely be scared or anxious. You'll most likely also have some physical limitations during your recovery period. This is why it's a good idea to enlist support before your surgery from your friends and family. They can help you feel better both physically and mentally.

5. Get Enough Sleep

While getting enough sleep after spine surgery is important for the healing process, you should also get plenty of sleep before your procedure. The day of your surgery you're going to have a lot going on. Adequate sleep can help you cope better.

6. Remember to relax!

Relaxation has both physiological and psychological benefits including a reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and more. When you are calm and relaxed in your mind, your body can follow suite.

7. Prepare Your Home

It can be extremely helpful if you make adjustments to your living situation ahead of time. Some adjustments to your home you can make, to make your recovery easier are:

- Buying simple-to-prepare foods or preparing your food beforehand
- Placing your phone in a location that's easy to access
- Having your clothing and shoes prepared ahead of time and placing them at a height within your reach, so you don't have to bend
- Securing or removing throw rugs to avoid falling

So many patients needlessly live with spine-related pain. They fear the solution will be worse than the problem. SPINE/RX is committed to dispelling the myths that surround spine surgery and to educating patients about modern spine surgery solutions. We’ve seen the results, and we’ve seen how they can change patients’ lives dramatically.We want life-changing results for every patient. For everyone who visits SPINE/RX, the goal is the same: to use the most minimally-invasive procedure, to achieve the most definitive results. Call us today (201) 535-3735.