Avoid Sciatica Surgery With Chiropractic

Dr. Gugerli works with countless sciatica patients here in our Cary office, and quite a few of these men and women were concerned that they might need surgery to relieve their pain. The latest research reveals that a large number of people don't need surgery for this prevalent issue, and that chiropractic is more effective at resolving sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, physicians looked at 80 women and men 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 improved; however, no obvious difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. In addition, about 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 delivered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to undergo the higher levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through extended recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment method. Additionally, you also don't run the risks affiliated with surgical microdiscectomy, such as nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery should be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Cary and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Gugerli a call today at (919) 589-0909. We'll help determine 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.