Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

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

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

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

Both groups got better; however, no obvious difference in outcome was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, about 60% 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 benefits as surgery without needing to go through the greater levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment option. Plus, you also don't run the risks affiliated with 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 Rutland and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Cyr a call today at (802) 775-6961. We'll help determine 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.