Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Henke works with many sciatica patients here in our Agassiz office, and many of these patients were worried that they might require surgery to alleviate their pain. The latest research indicates that many people don't need surgery for this common problem, and that chiropractic is more successful at solving sciatic nerve pain.

A popular surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers looked at 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

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

Both groups improved; however, no obvious 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 pain relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Simply put, chiropractic offered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to undergo the higher amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment method. Additionally, you also don't run the risks affiliated with surgical microdiscectomy, including nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery should be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Agassiz and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Henke a call today at (604) 491-1000. 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.