Surgery may not always be the best or only solution to your health problem. The New York Times discussed the unnecessary need for having both spine and knee surgery to improve wellbeing. “Take what happened with spinal fusion…The conclusion: Surgery was no better than alternative nonsurgical treatments, like supervised exercise and therapy to help patients deal with their fear of back pain. In both groups, the pain usually diminished or went away…many doctors have been genuinely uncertain about which is better — exercise and physical therapy or surgery. That, in fact, was what led Dr. Katz and his colleagues to conduct a clinical trial comparing surgery with physical therapy in middle-aged people with a torn meniscus and knee pain. The result: The surgery offered little to most who had it. Other studies came to the same conclusion, and so did a meta-analysis published last year of nine clinical trials testing the surgery. Patients tended to report less pain — but patients reported less pain no matter what the treatment, even fake surgery.” If you are considering surgery for a health issue, discuss different therapy and treatment options with your doctor that may improve your quality of life. Changing your lifestyle, exercising, or physical therapy are all examples of alternatives that can be beneficial in a variety of situations.