Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Myers works with many sciatica patients here in our Asheville office, and many of these patients were worried that they might need surgery to alleviate their pain. The most recent research indicates that many people don't need surgery for this widespread problem, and that chiropractic is more successful at solving sciatic nerve pain.

A typical surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers looked at 80 patients with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group was to receive surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no apparent difference in outcome was recorded one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around 60 percent of the participating subjects who could not find assistance from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

In other words, chiropractic offered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to go through the higher levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often associated with that particular treatment choice. Plus, you also don't run the risks associated with surgical microdiscectomy, which includes nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery should be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Asheville and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Myers a call today at (828) 676-0963. We'll help determine the source 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.