Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Valente works with countless sciatica patients here in our New York office, and many of these men and women were worried that they might need surgery to eliminate their pain. The latest research indicates that a large number of people don't require surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more successful at solving sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, specialists examined 80 women and men 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 apparent difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, about 60 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."

In other words, chiropractic provided the same positive benefits as surgery without needing to endure the greater amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often associated with that particular treatment method. Additionally, you also don't run the risks affiliated 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 New York and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Valente a call today at (917) 338-7917. We'll help pinpoint 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.