Twenty-five percent of patients end up in worse shape after surgery than they were before

Sunday, December 26, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: surgery, patients, health news

(NaturalNews) A new study published in the British Journal of Surgery has found that surgical operations are not always beneficial to patients. According to study data, roughly 14 percent of patients end up with more physical and emotional pain after their surgeries than before them, and about 25 percent experience an overall decrease in strength a year after the procedure.

For the study, more than 400 men and women took a health survey prior to their operations, and at six and 12 months after them. The survey evaluated physical strength capability, levels of pain and mental acuity at these various intervals, and compared them to one another.

A year after their surgeries, 17 percent of patients reported more pain than before, 14 percent indicated reduced functional ability and 16 percent said their mental states had declined.

"Our study showed poor recovery was relatively frequent six and 12 months after surgery and could be partly explained by various physical and psychological factors," explained Dr. Madelon Peters from the Department of Clinical Psychology Science at Maastricht University, in a report.

Though most surgery patients seem to recover fairly well during the year following the procedure, a significant number do not. One of the serious long-term side effects of surgery is chronic post-surgical pain and according to recent studies, the number of cases of this condition have increased at an alarmingly high rate over the past few years.

Consequently, some experts argue that extra caution must be taken when determining whether or not to undergo surgery. If a surgery is necessary, it is best to apply naturopathic healing techniques, such as supplementing with certain therapeutic vitamins and minerals both before and after surgery, to help ensure an optimal recovery.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-...