Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Mulholland works with countless sciatica patients here in our Anchorage office, and many of these men and women were concerned that they might need surgery to relieve their pain. The most recent research indicates that a large number of people don't require surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers examined 80 individuals 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 was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no obvious difference in outcome was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, about 60 percent of the participating subjects who could not find relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Simply put, chiropractic delivered the same positive advantages as surgery without needing to endure the greater levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment choice. 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 Anchorage and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Mulholland a call today at (907) 770-5700. 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.