Mr. Kenney works with many sciatica patients here in our Tenino office, and many of these individuals were afraid that they might require surgery to relieve their pain. The latest research indicates that many people don't require surgery for this common issue, and that chiropractic is more successful at solving 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 operation.
Forty patients were then randomly sorted into 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 obvious difference in results was recorded one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, roughly sixty 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 advantages as surgery without needing to go through the greater amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often associated with that specific treatment option. Plus, 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 option for sciatica pain. If you live in Tenino and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Mr. Kenney a call today at (360) 866-3731. We'll help determine 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.