Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Michael Delson works with countless sciatica patients here in our Springfield, MA office, and many of these patients were afraid that they might require surgery to alleviate their pain. The latest research reveals that a large number of people don't require surgery for this common problem, and that chiropractic is more effective at resolving sciatic nerve pain.

A typical surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers examined 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this operation.

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

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

Simply put, chiropractic provided the same positive benefits as surgery without needing to endure the greater amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through extended recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment choice. Plus, you also don't run the risks linked to 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 Springfield, MA and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Michael Delson a call today at (413) 788-4464. 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.