Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Ulvin works with countless sciatica patients here in our Stacy office, and many of these individuals were worried that they might require surgery to treat their pain. The most recent research shows that a large number of people don't require surgery for this prevalent issue, and that chiropractic is more effective 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 received chiropractic care.

Both groups got better; however, no apparent difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, roughly 60% 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."

Put another way, chiropractic offered the same positive advantages as surgery without having to undergo the increased levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment choice. Plus, you also don't run the risks affiliated with surgical microdiscectomy, such as nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Stacy and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Ulvin a call today at (651) 462-3243. We'll help pinpoint 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.