Chiropractic More Effective for Sciatica Than Surgery

Dr. Aazami works with many sciatica patients here in our Rockville office, and many of these individuals were worried that they might need surgery to relieve their pain. The most recent research indicates that many people don't require surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more successful at resolving sciatic nerve pain.

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

Forty patients were then randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group received surgical microdiscectomy and the second group received chiropractic care.

Both groups got better; however, no noticeable difference in outcome was recorded one year post-treatment between either group. In addition, around sixty percent of the participating patients who could not find pain relief from any other treatment method "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

In other words, chiropractic delivered the same positive benefits as surgery without needing to go through the higher levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment option. Additionally, you also don't run the risks linked to 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 Rockville and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Aazami a call today at (240) 221-2666. 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.