Chiropractic More Effective for Sciatica Than Surgery

Dr. Linton works with countless sciatica patients here in our Mt Sterling office, and many of these individuals were nervous that they might require surgery to eliminate their pain. The most recent research indicates that many people don't need surgery for this common 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, specialists looked at 80 individuals with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

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

Both groups improved; however, no obvious difference in outcome was recorded one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around 60% of the participating patients who could not find assistance from any other treatment method "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 increased amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that type of treatment method. Additionally, 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 Mt Sterling and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Linton a call today at (859) 499-1009. We'll help identify 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.