Lower Back Pain after Appendectomy: Is It Related?

lower back pain after apendectomy - edupain

Although lower back pain after appendectomy seems to be unrelated, some of the research findings have the answer to it.

First of all, we are not going to talk about the meaning of appendicitis because we were sure that you are here to search for an answer about your lower back discomfort.

Before we get to the main subject, we have to know about appendectomy surgery.

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Types of appendectomy

According to Healthline, there are two types of appendectomy depending on the severity of appendicitis:

1. Open appendectomy

When the appendix has burst, or there is an abscess, the surgeon will perform an open appendectomy.

The surgeon makes one incision on the lower right side of your stomach. Then, remove the appendix and close the incision with stitches.

Performing an open appendectomy, allowing the surgeon to fix the problem and clean the abdominal cavity thoroughly. The surgeon washes around the appendix area with the saline water in some cases.

2. Laparoscopic appendectomy

In contrast, laparoscopic appendectomy uses a laparoscope. A thin tube with a light and camera for guidance.

At first, the surgeon makes an incision in the stomach. They are inserting the laparoscope to guide the appendix removal instruments.

After the doctor finds the appendix, they use the surgical instruments to tie it off using stitches and then remove it. Clean the wound, and seal it back.

How could appendectomy surgery affect lower back pain?

1. the Nervous system disruption

According to NCBI, as published in articles about skin, fascias, and scars, they mention that an old injury can disrupt the nervous connections.

As we know, the pain may be caused by nerve irritation, body tissue injury, muscle spasm, or a combination of them.

It is seemingly far away from where the problems are initially located. The pain may be radiating from the hip flexor towards the back.

Even if you had appendix scar removal years ago, this old scratch could cause trouble to nerves and muscles. As we mentioned above, it disrupts the nervous system.

2. During the recovery period

Although this may be true, lower back pain after appendectomy also may correlate with the recovery phase.

After the appendectomy procedure is complete, the patient will undergo a recovery process. First, of course, is in the hospital.

After vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are stable, and you are awake, the patients will be allowed to go home.

Luckily, in laparoscopic surgery, the recovery will last for a few hours after surgery. However, for open appendectomy removal surgery, it may take up to 1 day.

In the meantime, the patient will likely be lying down more, and not doing a lot of movement such as walking.

Similarly, when making a recovery at home, the patient is expected to rest and lie in bed for a longer time. Besides, the patient should have to keep the wound remains dry for a few days.

The recovery process at home lasted at least two weeks, depending on the type of appendix removal itself.

Under those circumstances, walking and standing were not in an upright position. Sometimes in a low slouched posture to keep the wound in the abdomen not to getting stretched.

Conclusion

In the final analysis, not only the scar that affects the pain, but also the condition during the recovery process.

Many experts say that lying down and sitting for a long time affect the back. Also, walking in a slouched position during recovery may be the cause of lower back pain after an appendectomy.

The doctor will probably recommend doing a light activity and moving around a little bit in a couple of days at the time of the check-up visit.

Resources:

  • Healthline: What Is an Appendectomy? https://www.healthline.com/health/appendectomy
  • NCBI: Skin, fascias, and scars: symptoms and systemic connections https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3883554/

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