Dr. Dahlager works with many sciatica patients here in our Noblesville office, and quite a few of these men and women were concerned that they might need surgery to relieve their pain. The most recent research indicates that many people don't need surgery for this widespread problem, and that chiropractic is more successful at solving sciatic nerve pain.

A popular surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, physicians examined 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 was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no obvious difference in outcome was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Furthermore, around 60% of the participating subjects who could not find assistance from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Put another way, chiropractic provided the same positive advantages as surgery without needing to go through the higher amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often associated with that particular treatment option. Additionally, 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 resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Noblesville and you're being affected by back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Dahlager a call today at (317) 214-7218. 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.