Chiropractic Superior for Sciatica Than Surgery

Select Health and Wellness works with many sciatica patients here in our Fleming Island office, and quite a few of these patients were worried that they might need surgery to alleviate their pain. The latest research indicates that a large number of people don't require surgery for this prevalent issue, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A typical surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, specialists looked at 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this operation.

Forty patients were then randomly sorted into one of two groups. The first group received surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no obvious difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around sixty percent of the participating patients who could not find relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Simply put, chiropractic provided the same positive advantages as surgery without needing to endure the higher amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through extended recovery times often associated with that particular treatment option. Plus, you also don't run the risks linked to surgical microdiscectomy, including nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Fleming Island and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Select Health and Wellness a call today at (904) 425-9060. We'll help pinpoint the start of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.