Chiropractic Better for Sciatica Than Surgery

Sweeney Chiropractic works with many sciatica patients here in our Nashville office, and many of these men and women were concerned that they might need surgery to alleviate their pain. The most recent research shows that a large number of people don't need surgery for this widespread problem, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A common 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 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. Additionally, about sixty percent of the participating patients who could not find assistance 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 needing to endure the increased amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often associated with that particular treatment method. Plus, you also don't run the risks linked to surgical microdiscectomy, including 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 suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Sweeney Chiropractic a call today at (615) 331-7040. We'll help identify 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.