Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Julia Robertson works with many sciatica patients here in our Salem, OR office, and many of these patients were worried that they might require surgery to alleviate their pain. The most recent research reveals that a large number of people don't require surgery for this widespread problem, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A typical surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers examined 80 individuals with sciatica who were referred for this operation.

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 noticeable difference in outcome was recorded one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find pain 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 benefits as surgery without having to endure the increased levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment option. 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 ought to be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Salem, OR and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Julia Robertson a call today at (503) 399-7607. 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.