Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Jane Steffen Bye works with countless sciatica patients here in our Shoreview, MN office, and quite a few of these individuals were nervous that they might need surgery to alleviate their pain. The most recent research shows that many people don't require surgery for this prevalent problem, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at solving 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 operation.

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

Both groups improved; however, no apparent difference in results was recorded one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around 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 offered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to go through the increased amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment option. 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 Shoreview, MN and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Jane Steffen Bye a call today at (651) 483-4040. We'll help pinpoint 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.