Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Covington works with many sciatica patients here in our Yakima office, and quite a few of these individuals were afraid that they might require surgery to treat their pain. The latest research reveals that many people don't require surgery for this widespread problem, and that chiropractic is more effective at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, physicians examined 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

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 noticeable difference in outcome was reported one year post-treatment between either 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."

In other words, chiropractic delivered the same positive advantages as surgery without needing to undergo the greater amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through extended recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment method. Additionally, you also don't run the risks linked to 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 Yakima and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Covington a call today at (509) 895-7535. 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.