Chiropractic Healing Hands For You works with many sciatica patients here in our Portland office, and many of these individuals were nervous that they might need surgery to eliminate their pain. The most recent research shows that a large number of people don't require surgery for this common problem, and that chiropractic is more effective at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.
A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, specialists looked at 80 patients with sciatica who were referred for this operation.
Forty patients were then randomly sorted into 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 results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, around 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."
In other words, chiropractic offered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to go through the higher amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that type of 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 should be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in Portland and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Chiropractic Healing Hands For You a call today at (503) 771-1974. We'll help determine the origin of your pain and work hard to get you relief.
References
Dr. Helton, a Portland chiropractor, has been providing chiropractic health care and treatment for accident injuries for over 30 years. Dr. Helton specializes and is an expert in the evaluation and treatment of injuries from auto accidents. He has passed advanced certification training and testing by the Spine Research Institute of San Diego in the evaluation, treatment, and management of injuries from whiplash and brain traumatology.
