Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Sweeney Chiropractic works with countless sciatica patients here in our Nashville office, and quite a few of these men and women were concerned that they might require surgery to treat their pain. The most recent 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, 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 got better; however, no noticeable difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between either group. Furthermore, about 60 percent of the participating subjects 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."

Put another way, chiropractic provided the same positive benefits as surgery without having to endure the higher levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment choice. Additionally, you also don't run the risks associated with surgical microdiscectomy, such as nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery should be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Nashville and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Sweeney Chiropractic a call today at (615) 331-7040. We'll help identify the origin 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.